


Lions and Igigi and Wraith, Oh My

by LitGal



Series: Not in Kansas Anymore [2]
Category: NCIS, Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Atlantis colony, Crossover, Light Dom/sub, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-18
Updated: 2014-03-03
Packaged: 2018-01-01 22:40:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 103,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1049399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LitGal/pseuds/LitGal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gibbs has an onac in his head--a symbiote related to the goa'uld.  The SGC may not trust him, but they do want to keep him under control, and reactivating him as a gunnery sergeant is one way to do that.  No one expected O'Neill to get him onto the Atlantis mission.  No one could have predicted how well Tony and Gibbs would fit in with this misfit crew.  No one could have predicted how the universe might change when a five thousand year old snake formed an alliance with one spikey-haired military officer who Pegasus natives are starting to whisper just might be a de-ascended Ancient.  One change, and the universe turns.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Okay, where is he?” Tony demanded as he strode into the cafeteria. The two geeks he’d been searching for both looked up, guilty expressions in place. “Oh, this is good. How gorgeous is he?” Tony dropped down in a seat across from McKay and Zelenka.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” McKay said; however, he blushed. Considering how many times McKay said truly horrifying things about Tony’s relationship with Gibbs and Samas, no way was Tony letting this slide.

“Come on McSmarty, tell the truth. Are you in lurve?”

McKay looked up with an expression that came close to sheer panic.

“He is in love with the major’s gene,” Zelenka said with a dismissive snort. “You have been replaced in his affections. Fickle man.”

“Do not start.” McKay slapped his fork down onto the table. “I simply pointed out that his control is far more instinctive. Tony has to practice, and Beckett…” McKay waved a hand in the air, but Tony had already heard about Beckett’s stray drone and the way he had accidentally targeted O’Neill’s helicopter—the one this new gene carrier had been piloting.

“Yeah, I heard he tried to blow up the general. Good for him.” Tony grinned. He still had some O’Neill issues.

“Where I come from, it is not wise to say such things about one’s superior,” Zalenka warned him.

“I’ve said worse to his face. I mean, he sent me to Antarctica. Antarctica. Seriously, who gets exiled to the bottom of the world?” Tony pouted.

All McKay did was grunt, the unsympathetic ass. Strangely, Tony still liked him, even when he refused to be impressed with any of Tony’s best scams or pouts. McKay poked a plastic fork in his general direction. “I got exiled, all the way to Siberia. You volunteered.”

“Not voluntarily.”

McKay took a deep breath and was clearly ready to launch into a speech about Tony’s idiotic use of language, but Tony spoke before he could. “He shows up and gives me the whole, ‘You have to serve your country and save your world’ speech followed by the ‘Do or do not, there is not try with that Ancient gene of yours.’”

“That was Yoda,” McKay said, his lips twisting in disgust.

“Yoda had an Ancient gene?” Tony asked in his most innocent voice.

“Oh for God’s sake. Do you have to torture me with your ignorance? I am too important for the puerile games of men with ridiculous hair.” McKay stood and started to walk off, but he turned back and grabbed his half-full tray before striding out with his head up and his food in hand.

“Ridiculous hair?” Tony ran his fingers through his hair. Okay, maybe he’d been conditioning a little less in these past couple of months, but he didn’t think his hair was ridiculous.

“That was for Major Sheppard. His hair is quite… unique,” Zelenka said.

“Oh. Wow. McKay really has it bad, huh?”

“He does,” Zelenka agreed.

“So, is this some military jarhead I’m going to have to threaten with a long death followed by a shallow grave?”

Zelenka shook his head. “Oddly, Sheppard seemed to take an immediate fondness for McKay.”

The phrasing was just foreign enough that Tony got a bit of déjà vu. He might not get to make fun of Ziva’s English anymore, but life hadn’t changed as much as Tony’d feared it might. Gibbs still fell asleep under his latest woodworking project and he worked too damn hard, although these days it was mostly Samas working with the geeks, and Tony was still torturing coworkers.

“That’s good. Unexpected in a slightly worrisome way, but good. They have checked him for alien parasites that might be affecting his judgment, right?”

Zelenka rolled his eyes. “You liked McKay from the first, so maybe not so odd. Or maybe you should be checked for those parasites.”

“Yeah, yeah. You like him too, and he can’t remember your name from one day to the next.”

“Yes, and he is so much better with yours, Timmy,” Zelenka said sarcastically. Tony grimaced. He really didn’t like being reminded of that, or of being reminded of how he had thrown a complete temper tantrum until McKay had finally paid attention long enough to understand that Tony did not like being called Tim.

“McKay’s bark is worse than his bite—we just have to remind the military people to keep that in mind.”

Zelenka nodded. “That we must. Have you heard word on whether you will be going with us if the gate address for the city is found?”

Atlantis. Okay, one part of his life was dramatically different. If the geeks could get this old equipment to spit out the right address, he might have a ticket to an Ancient city on another world. “I think the IOC is struggling with the idea of sending an igigi to Atlantis.” And that was without even knowing that the igigi in question was a queen, perfectly capable of restoring her species if she had the right body of water and the right people to host her children. Samas definitely didn’t want a repeat of the goa’uld debacle.

“They are idiots,” Zelenka said. “I would offer to blow them up for you, but I know Samas takes a dim view of such violence.”

Tony laughed. “Yep, but if they keep this up, they’re going to find out that Gibbs is a little more open-minded when it comes to lethal force. Speaking of the devil…” Tony watched as Gibbs came into the cafeteria. He looked tired, but then Samas had been working himself ragged with all the Ancient tech. The moment their gazes met, Tony smiled.

Gibbs smiled back, and Tony felt his heart warm. “Hey Gibbs,” he called even though he didn’t need to. Gibbs was already halfway across the room. He reached Tony’s table and slid into the chair next to him, a hand resting possessively on Tony’s knee.

“You know, it is very strange. You two share a life, and still Tony calls you Gibbs.”

“What should he call me?” Gibbs asked.

Zelenka looked at Gibbs curiously. “Would ‘Jethro’ not be more appropriate?”

Tony made a face. “Yeah, I can’t say that without thinking about the Beverly Hillbillies.”

“The what?”

“I’ll bring you DVDs,” Tony offered. He already started to form a plan for how to trap McKay in the same room with them and force him to endure endless hours with the Clampett family.

“Or not. We may not have a lot of time to pack,” Gibbs said.

Tony’s stomach twisted with fear. “If O’Neill thinks he can just keep turning our lives upside down on a whim, I’m going to—”

“They found Atlantis,” Gibbs said, and Tony’s rant vanished.

Zelenka leaned forward. “Truly?”

Gibbs nodded. “Yep. And apparently the IOC thinks you lot need a couple of Navy cops along to keep the peace.”

Tony was grinning so hard his face hurt. “We’re all going to Atlantis?” he asked, just to make sure.

“Yep. But what’s this I hear about you being demoted to assistant light switch?”

Zelenka laughed. “Oh yes. If McKay can get Elizabeth to cooperate, he will most happily bring Major Sheppard along on this trip. The man has remarkable control over Ancient technology.”

“And ridiculous hair,” Tony added.

“Yeah, I saw that. If the man falls asleep in a public place, I’m taking clippers to that head of his and giving him a regulation cut,” Gibbs threatened.

Zelenka was nodding. “Yes, I was wondering how an officer could wear his hair in such a manner.”

Tony looked back and forth between the two men, searching for any sign that this was all some elaborate hoax and Major Sheppard was, in fact, bald. However, Gibbs and Zelenka both seemed serious. “Oh I have to find this guy. The hair is really that bad?”

“It’s actually very beautiful, but then he is a beautiful man,” Zelenka mused.

“McKay fell for a beautiful man?” Tony’s understanding of reality shifted two inches to the left. McKay typically stayed as far away from beautiful people as he could, at least he had after his unfortunate infatuation with Carter.

“I know. This will either be raw material for a grand epic, or this is fated to end very badly.” Zelenka stood up and took his empty tray. “I should go. I must finish some work if we are to leave soon.”

Gibbs’ fingers tightened around Tony’s knee, and Tony turned to his lover. “Are you okay with going?”

“I’ll get to see the sky without having armed guards at my back,” Gibbs said. “And there’s a whole world of technology to investigate. Samas is curious.”

“And you?” Tony asked again.

Gibbs smiled and leaned closer. “I have my work and family. It’s more than I’ve had in years, and as long as I have those two things in my life, I couldn’t care less where we live.” Gibbs cupped his hand around Tony’s cheek and leaned in for a kiss. Someone on the other side of the mess gave them a wolf whistle.


	2. Chapter 2

“Dr. Weir?” Samas asked, standing at the door and waiting for her full attention.

She smiled. “Gunnery Ser…” She stopped. “I apologize. Samas. What can I do for you?”

Samas walked in. The science uniform was an easy signal for the others to understand what task he and Gibbs were working on, but they still failed to understand how much he and Gibbs coordinated their efforts. Samas stood back and allowed Gibbs to initiate the conversation.

“Dr. Weir, I was hoping we could discuss the manifest.”

“The manifest?” She put down her tablet and looked at him. “Of course. Come in, have a seat,” she gestured toward the chairs in the SGC’s conference room, and Gibbs chose one reasonably close while still leaving an empty chair between them. Samas did not understand just need for distance. From here he could barely taste the flavor of her emotion. Gibbs sent him a quieting thought, and Samas returned to watching.

“Is it true that we are going to potentially be a colony with no way to return to Earth?”

“If this is a problem for you, I understand it if you don’t want to commit yourself to that sort of mission.”

Gibbs shook his head. “You misunderstand, Dr. Weir.” Gibbs and sent Samas a query. Would it not be better for him to take this part of the conversation? Samas reviewed Gibbs’ understanding of Weir’s personality and slid forward to take the controls again.

“Oh?” Dr. Weir asked in the second of time that had passes while Samas and Gibbs had conferred. 

“I have seen colony ships leave for other planets, and looking at the manifest, I see evidence of a military base being established, not a colony. If we are cut off from earth, I fear we do not have the necessary supplies, especially if my concerns about the Pegasus galaxy prove correct.”

“Your fears?” Weir leaned forward. “What fears?”

Samas frowned, disturbed by this, and Gibbs moved forward again. “Didn’t the IOC discuss my report with you?”

“No.” Weir’s voice was sharp.

“Politicians,” Gibbs said with disgust when Samas stepped back to study the emotion scents drifting on the air.

“They were one of the plagues of Egypt,” Weir agreed. She leaned forward. “Can you tell me what you had in that report?”

Gibbs nodded. “The host that Ra first took, the one that turned him into a monster—it was some race the onac had never met before. After talking to Daniel Jackson, I suspect it was a rogue or criminal who was already a psychopath, and Ra was corrupted by that joining. However, if that original host had a way to Pegasus, Ra would have seeded those stars with goa’uld. Given that the aging process has become a problem here, the original goa’uld would be aging out, but if they avoided declaring war on queens as a whole, they would have young ones to take the place of the aging parasites.”

“You think we’ll find goa’uld.” Weir leaned back and blew out a long breath.

“I think it’s a possibility, one I outlined for the IOC. Given what little I know of Ra’s original host, Daniel Jackson believes it was one of the ancient races, possibly an Ancient or one of the rogue Asgard. Both would have intergalactic drive. Depending on their relationships with their queens, we may find goa’uld who are much more virile and dangerous than our own.”

“But there’s no mention of goa’uld going to another galaxy.”

“No, but trust me, Ra kept secrets,” Gibbs said. 

Weir gave him a small smile. “You would know far better than I.”

Samas slid forward again. “Yes,” he said, “I do know. I remember every betrayal and every one of my people who died because of Ra’s secrets. Your world would have been enslaved except Ra chose to keep the location of Earth a secret from the others. He was not one to share, even with his own queen.” Samas knew that Ra had killed his first queen, Nut, and had imprisoned Hathor in a sarcophagus. For a male to turn on a queen in such a way gave Samas an overwhelming urge to kill.

“You think this is a real possibility,” Weir said, and her concern flavored the air so sharply that Samas could taste it, even from his cramped space within Gibbs.

“I do,” Samas agreed. “If the goa’uld have taken control of that galaxy, the humans will not have great civilizations capable of appreciating the technology you bring.”

“Meaning?”

“You need trade items that more primitive people might appreciate—brightly colored cloth or simple medicines.”

Weir nodded. “That’s easy to add to the manifest.”

Samas was annoyed by her casual attitude. She held their lives, and she was not demanding information, pushing for the right answers. She should be a queen, demand her rights and punish those who withheld information. Gibbs shoved at him, and Samas yielded control before he could say something uncharitable. Gibbs had to stop himself from asking permission to speak freely. He had slid back into the military mindset, but while he wore Samas’ uniform, Samas would not have him take anyone’s orders. Gibbs was superior to these others who lived in such perfect confidence. Gibbs understood failure, and that made him wiser. Samas preferred the company of those such as O’Neill and Jackson and Sheppard and McKay and Zelenka for the same reason. Each had known utter defeat. It made them stronger than one who had never known such loss and proved themselves capable of surviving it.

Gibbs took a deep breath to ease the aggravation he could feel from Samas, and Samas attempted to make that easier by calming his thoughts. “If we are cut off, these supplies won’t last long.”

“How many more MREs would you have us take, Samas?” Weir watched through neutral eyes, but Samas could taste her amusement, and he passed that information to Gibbs. They shared many uncharitable thoughts before Gibbs focused on the conversation.

“We need food that won’t run out.”

“Excuse me?”

“Chickens and goats,” Gibbs said. “If we are cut off from Earth long term, they will provide eggs, milk, cheese, and meat. If we’re in an emergency situation, we can slaughter them immediately to feed our population in the short term, although that wouldn’t be the best idea for long term sustainability.” 

Weir leaned back. “You want us to take animals? On an exploratory expedition?”

Gibbs reined in his temper. “The pyramid ships are far larger than the needs of the small number of goa’uld who use each. A ha’tak typically has one one major goa’uld on board, with a half dozen to a dozen minor goa’uld to run technology. Yet they are as large as a small city.”

“Go on.”

“The early ships would often break down. The goa’uld would carry animals and feed so that the lords would not be inconvenienced with inferior food while the ships were repaired. They went nowhere without access to fresh food.”

“We are not goa’uld,” Weir said softly.

“You are not, but I would hope you would learn from some of their mistakes. They took those animals because early expeditions did not, and they paid a heavy price for that.”

“Who would care for these animals?”

Gibbs frowned. “This is about the survival of the expedition. I’m sure some of them would be happy to volunteer, but if not, Tony and I can take care of them. It’s too important to have a steady source of fresh food.”

Weir shook her head. “I doubt many of the expedition members would appreciate eating an animal they’d lived in close proximity to.”

Samas was so shocked that he could not find words, and sadly, so was Gibbs. Neither understood this, so Samas prodded Gibbs to deal with his illogical species. 

“If people are hungry or fed up with MREs, they’d get over it pretty quick.”

“I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble it would take to get them here or to take care of them. If we take animals, we have to take enclosures and feed… It’s not practical.”

“Neither is starving,” Gibbs pointed out. “If there are goa’uld controlling the Pegasus, we can’t count on finding a lot of friendly planets, and we’re not going to have a strong home base to work out of unless we build it. We should also take seed. A lot of it. Depending on what sort of arable land we find, we need to be prepared to grow whatever crops are feasible.”

“You’re serious.” Weir gave him an odd look.

Samas took back control from Gibbs. “I have stood on the bridge of a ha’tak and watched people walk out onto a raw planet, knowing they would have no way back and that they must make a life where their god left them. Their animals and their seed crops were their priorities, even over their own children. When men ran back to their huts to grab supplies before the jaffa took them, they did not grab for their toys or their clothing or even their sons. They grabbed their animals and their seed. Surely we can be as intelligent as those ancestors five thousand years ago. Were you to be truly as wise as those ancestors, you would also bring wool bearing animals, sheep or alpaca, along with looms and spinning machines. Many primitive societies will trade away valuable resources for cloth because it is so difficult to make. Those societies did not wear leather because it was preferable. Leather is often hot and it becomes most unpleasant when worn too long in inclement weather. However cloth-making is a time consuming process.”

“You really want me to go to the IOC and ask for spinning wheels and looms and alpaca?” Now Samas could taste the negative emotions in the air.

“You are the queen of this expedition. Demand what is yours by right. Do not let them send us out unprepared, for I have stories of those ha’tak that failed to prepare, and the end of those inside was neither merciful nor quick.”

“Samas…” Weir sighed. “I understand that the onac have a different culture—”

“We prefer to not starve. That is our culture. Tony and Gibbs are my family, and I must do what I need in order to protect them.” Samas did not add that he considered McKay and Zelenka part of that core group that must be defended, but he certainly felt that way. If Weir would not listen to reason, Samas would go to Daniel Jackson for help in this. If he had to buy the animals himself, he would shove them through the gate.

“I have to look out for the entire expedition,” Weir said softly, “and while I respect your honesty and your unique perspective, I cannot change the course of the expedition because you feel it would better serve you and Tony.”

“How would the inclusion of such things harm the expedition?”

“It would take an excessive amount of power, for one,” Weir answered.

“The power is in establishing the wormhole. Once it is established, the power demands are much less significant.” After working with McKay, Samas had a much better understanding of Ancient technology. Ra himself would have valued Samas’ considerable skill, and he would have taken Rodney for his own host. The man was arrogant even while smelling of loneliness and distress, but he was every bit as intelligent as he claimed. Samas knew he would never be able to match McKay’s intellect, especially when it came to insights about the technology. He could only become a damn fine technician. 

“Samas, in human culture, we have to think about the impression we make. If we walk through the wormhole with a dozen chickens and a goat, we are giving away a psychological advantage. We are telling our people that we do not have faith in our ability to come home.”

“The first time Jack O’Neill went through the gate, he had faith he would come home, and he was nearly trapped on Abydos forever.”

Weir smiled. “But he came home.”

Such optimism was the birthright of those who never failed, and Samas was starting to hate Weir a little more with each moment. “Faith is for prayers and gods. Food is for those who live in this world. We should not walk through with a dozen chickens, but rather seventy or eighty. And I would want to take no fewer than forty goats, more if possible. Alpacas would be useful for their wool and as sentries. No intruder would be able to pass through an alpaca herd. I want several crates of seed for various crops and seedlings for medicinal plants, so that by the time we run out of medicines, we have the ability to make some of the most vital tinctures.” 

“Absolutely not. This is a scientific expedition, not a colony,” Weir said firmly. “And even if you did take those animals, do you have any idea the ecological damage we could do by introducing a non-native species to an alien environment?”

“If it keeps the expedition alive, I do not much care,” Samas said quite firmly. Gibbs was in agreement. Environmental concerns came second to the fear of having to watch Tony starve to death.

“Well that is a refreshing attitude. At least you are willing to speak your mind instead of hiding your motives behind pseudoscience and ignorance. You don’t care what damage we do to others, but I do. Humans care a lot about what damage we do to others, and I am not going to start my expedition by being the person who introduces rabbits to Australia.” Now Weir smelled of anger, and Gibbs agreed with him that further discussions could not improve the situation.

“I plan to speak to others to try and get them to agree to allow me to take these animals even if you do not want them on the official expedition,” Samas said as he stood.

Weir narrowed her eyes. “So, you tell me to my face that you plan to go behind my back?”

“I will always be honest with you,” Samas promised. He suspected that Weir would soon grow tired of his honesty.

“Well you are welcome to try. I think you will find I have my supporters on the IOC,” she said with a smile. “Perhaps you should talk to Tony and Gibbs about this before you decide to make an enemy out of me.” 

“Would those be the supporters who failed to tell you that the goa’uld very likely have access to that galaxy?” Samas asked before he turned and walked out. 

Gibbs quickly provided all the potential dangers. Weir was a powerful woman with even more powerful allies. She was a politician, and she knew how to make a system work to her advantage. Despite that, Gibbs agreed that she did not know how to create a new world in the absence of a pre-existing political system. She might block them from going to Atlantis, but if she would rather block them than take food, Samas would know that before trapping himself and Tony on the far side of an intergalactic wormhole.

“That was interesting,” their Marine guard said as he took up position just to the side and behind Samas. “Do you really think we’re going to need a secure food source?”

“Yes,” Samas said firmly. “When humans left this planet to explore, they survived their encounters with the goa’uld because they had secure facilities and an abundance of supplies. We must have both if we are to fight the goa’uld in another galaxy.”

“Talk to Colonel Sumner, sir.”

Samas stopped. “The use of the term ‘sir’ when speaking to me makes my host uncomfortable. While I am a scientist, my host is a gunnery sergeant, and you will often see him on base when I am not inside him. Do not get in the habit of using the term ‘sir’ or he will remind you of this rule forcefully.”

“Um, of course,” the Marine agreed. Gibbs felt satisfaction at that. A corporal should know better.

“And the colonel has expressed his displeasure at my inclusion into this mission. I have chosen to accept his disapproval and go anyway because if there are goa’uld, I will get to kill them. Many of them. That is worth the discomfort of being placed in a position of relative powerlessness. Is it not?”

The corporal smiled. “Yes, it is. Killing goa’uld is always a good time, Gunnery Sergeant.”

Samas nodded. The young man had a good point, even if Samas could not be the messenger. However, Zelenka had grown up so poor that he understood the value of a chicken, and Sumner much preferred him to the much louder McKay. If Zelenka brought these concerns, suggested that this idea had come out of a discussion and that Weir had chosen environmental concerns over the welfare of the soldiers, that could prove most helpful. Gibbs agreed enthusiastically. Changing direction, Samas headed for Zelenka’s lab.

Perhaps he should not think of Weir as queen, but rather as one more sexless individual swimming through murky waters in order to try and find a better way to impress others. He did not hold it against her that she would be like that, but if she would not be a queen and fight for her people with every last breath, perhaps Samas would need to be.


	3. Shortly after Colonel Sumner's Death

Sheppard appeared at the door to the labs looking worn. His gaze swept the room before he focused on one person. “Samas. I was hoping we could talk.”

Samas looked up from his search of the database. “Of course, Major.” When Samas stood, he could smell the aggression on the air. Samas wasn’t sure if that was specific to some thought in Major Sheppard’s mind or simply a general feeling of aggressiveness after Sumner’s recent death. Samas considered the scientists around them. Kavanagh watched with particular interest. Samas knew that one was one to gather power and tuck it up under his fins, so he would rather not provide more fodder for his schemes. “Is this a discussion you wish to have in a more private location?”

Sheppard nodded. “My office,” he said. Gibbs felt a flash of amusement. He had said that to people hundreds of times only to end up in the NCIS elevator. Sheppard would likely do the same. He was not one for having an office, and Bates had already appropriated the one the late Colonel Sumner had set up. Samas sent out a flash of distress that he had not been allowed on that mission. If there were enemy, Samas wished to look them in the eye and kill them. Gibbs agreed, but Colonel Sumner had been apoplectic at the idea of an onac on his mission at all. He never would have allowed one on a team.

Samas did not understand the concept of chain of command in regards to Sheppard, either. Sumner had not approved of the man, and yet he had accepted Sheppard’s inclusion as his own second in command. Sheppard had risked his life to go back for others, a risk which Samas would admire in one who hoped to earn the right to breed. Of course, if Sheppard had died, Samas would have been just as quick to call him a fool, but he saw no contradiction there. Gibbs quickly pointed out that the same action could not be both foolish and admirable, not unless one was talking about Tony and his insane loyalty. And Samas quickly pointed out that Tony’s ability to do both had earned his onac a large number of offspring.

They reached a storage room, and Sheppard held the door allowing Samas and Gibbs to go first. By the time they turned to face Sheppard, Samas had retreated, and Gibbs went to parade rest for the only remaining officer outside of a wet-behind-the-ears lieutenant. 

“Sir?” Gibbs asked.

“Gunnery Sergeant?” Sheppard narrowed his eyes.

“Yes, sir. Samas is confused as to the chain of command, and so he asked me to take this meeting.”

“Well that’s interesting because I wanted to talk to you about chain of command issues. I have one or two concerns.”

Gibbs watched as Sheppard slumped against the wall. He was giving every outward sign of disinterest, but he was so tense that Samas could taste the distress hormones from across the room. Gibbs waited, even though he could guess the direction Sheppard’s mind was going.

“I hear you are to thank for our herds.”

“Dr. Zelenka, Samas and I were all concerned about the availability of food. I spoke to Dr. Weir and Dr. Zelenka spoke to Colonel Sumner, sir.”

“And we have fresh milk and eggs to supplement the MREs.” Sheppard let his gaze wander. “The Marines seem to think that you’re the main reason for it, something about you having first-hand knowledge with setting up colonies on new planets.”

“Samas watched new colonies be set up, sir. He was never sent to one.”

“So, this is one more case of Marines thinking that all good ideas come from Marines?”

“Yes, sir. I would prefer to think that in this case, all good ideas came from those who have faced starvation in one form or another. It makes us a little more concerned about securing food sources.” Gibbs kept his eyes on the wall next to Sheppard. He couldn’t help the major with this one. Sheppard needed to take control of this situation, and he had to do it soon. 

Samas would not challenge a human for leadership of a human colony, but others might. Sergeant Bates clearly felt that an Air Force officer had no business in charge of security, although Sheppard’s body language certainly suggested he was more than a simple pilot. Samas should have Dr. McKay hack the man’s official file and see what else might be in there.

“So, Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs, you have been a sniper, a covert operations agent, an NCIS agent… is there anything else I should know?”

Gibbs finally looked right at Sheppard. “I’ve also been a host for twenty years, I consider Samas a friend. I’ve taken executive action missions and completed them without hesitation in order to protect my country, and I’ve never disobeyed a legal order from a superior. I would suggest you not ask me about any laws I might have broken.”

“And what summary would you give me of Samas?” Sheppard dropped all pretense of disinterest.

“Samas wants to protect those he considers under his authority, especially Tony. He is violent in his concept of justice, he wants to close his jaws around the spine of a Wraith and feel it snap. He is utterly uninterested in human issues of power or command as long as it does not place me or Tony in a compromised situation. He feels you are both foolish and admirable for risking your life, and I suspect that Samas attaches a very different value system to the concept of foolish because he believes you are worthy of passing on your memories and genetics to another generation. For onac, that is high praise.”

“He likes me?” Sheppard looked stunned.

“He thinks you are moderately acceptable for a human,” Gibbs corrected him. Samas added his own personal desire that Sheppard carry an onac. Any onac that came from that one would learn of honor and acting against one’s own self-interest when it was for the best of the family group. However Gibbs quickly vetoed that. Any hint of a compromised command structure would give Bates the excuse he needed to shoot Gibbs in the head with Samas still in him.

Sheppard laughed. “Okay, we’re already off script here. I had a completely different idea about where this would go. So, what are the odds you’re going to try and take my command?”

“Zero, sir,” Gibbs said firmly. “I’ve never been one to lead men. Tony is the only person who hasn’t run the other way after working with me for any length of time. Between my own habit of being a loner, and Samas’ lack of patience for failure, we had a reputation at NCIS for driving people into retirement or making them volunteer for agent afloat jobs.”

“Yeah, and you probably can’t give the other Marines the sort of incentives you give Tony,” Sheppard said with a sly smile. The man definitely was not homophobic. 

“Tony was actually this loyal before the sex. If he trusts you, he’ll follow you to hell.”

Sheppard got a thoughtful look on his face. “Who does he trust?”

“Me,” Gibbs said. “Zelenka, McKay. Everyone else he’ll joke with and tease, but if you listen, he’ll keep them at arm’s length.” Normally Gibbs would avoid this much honesty, but Sheppard was a man with little command experience suddenly in charge of an isolated base. He had to stop being the flyboy and start seeing the world thought the eyes of a commander. 

“Not Dr. Weir?”

Gibbs watched Sheppard, waiting for whatever game he might be playing. They stood in silence until Sheppard finally got the message that Gibbs was not going to answer.

“What’s your assessment of Dr. Weir?” Sheppard came right out and asked. The direct approach—Gibbs found that few commanders took that route.

“She is politically brilliant. However, she is deeply rooted in human thinking, and I’m not sure that the people of this galaxy are going to have psychological reactions that will match her way of seeing the world.”

“You doubt her.”

“Sir,” Gibbs paused and took a breath as he tried to find an answer that wouldn’t put him at odds with one or both of the leaders of Atlantis. “I respect Dr. Weir in civilian matters, but I worry that this is a militarized zone.”

“Do you think the military should take command?”

Gibbs stopped himself from laughing. Sheppard didn’t have the experience to even try, although life was about to hand him more experience than he could handle. “Sir, this is a civilian mission, and Atlantis is hers. However, I hope the Wraith are ours.”

“She believes you are a clear danger to her and her authority.”

Gibbs blinked. These were the sorts of words commanders used before putting someone under lock and key and then losing the key. He wondered if Sheppard had been sent out on that very mission.

Samas slid forward before Gibbs could recover. “She fears me, then, not Gibbs. If she would turn against us, I would separate from Gibbs and allow him to keep his position as a soldier. You have too few fighters with any experience.”

“I won’t disagree with that last part, Samas. I’m wondering if you are a danger to her.”

“You are not an onac. You cannot smell the air and know whether I speak the truth or not, so what profit do you gain by asking the question?”

Sheppard shrugged. “I can see if you’re going to defend yourself.”

“I am not. This world is full of water. If I am not wanted, I am just as happy to leave you and make my own way.” Samas fully intended to spend at least some of his time in these rich waters, whether or not Weir had taken an irrational dislike to him. 

Gibbs reminded Samas that the dislike was not totally irrational. The animals they had brought had already proved themselves more valuable than any of the other supplies. The biologists had thrown utter fits about invasive species and the potential for ecological disaster and the damage to plant life from such hungry herbivores, but McKay had silenced them by threatening to cut off the biologists’ access to fresh milk and eggs if they spoke one more word.

The Athosians had no such fears. They had taken the goats to the mainland with the alpacas, and one of the outdoor areas now held huge chicken runs that provided the base with fresh protein on a daily basis. Athosians provided milk and cheese every few days, and everyone was much happier for having some real food. The animals had impressed the Athosians and Holling in particular, more than all the Atlantian technology combined. 

That success proved Weir’s lack of foresight in at least one case. It was like an onac showing weakness before others. Samas sent a query as to whether or not humans would engage in any metaphorical cannibalism, but Gibbs pointed out that it would require much more than one failure, or even a dozen failures, to inspire insurrection.

It took Sheppard a long time to come up with his next question. “Would you want leadership of this base?”

“No,” Samas said. “I would never wish to lead any but onac. I would hope to see a great igigi tribe again some day, but any leadership would include eating those I found unacceptable and vomiting their remains on dry land.”

Sheppard’s expression went past disturbed right into horrified. 

“That is not metaphor,” Samas assured him. “I lack any interest in learning a leadership style that does not include cannibalism or dismemberment.”

“That actually makes you sound a little like a goa’uld.”

“No, it does not. They are weak and they use technology and false stories of godhood to hide that weakness. I would kill every single one of them in an instant if I had the power. They are not willing to risk death in order to fight for what they believe in. They send humans to fight and die for them. Meanwhile, they cannot swim free or rule onac because they have become disgusting parasites who do not exist without a host.”

“Well, you might not want to mention the dismemberment thing to anyone else.”

Samas laughed. “I have already told several of the scientists. The social scientists are most interested in onac culture, and McKay has expressed his belief that if life were fair, he would be allowed to dismember those of his staff who continually make errors which he has warned them to stop making. He has taken to telling the story of how onac deal with failure with great relish. However, that is how onac deal with one another. I deal with humans through copious amounts of honesty. I find it drives them away as quickly as my teeth would drive away another onac.”

“Yeah,” Sheppard said slowly, “it might, actually, you know, if a person is bothered by things like dismemberment. Seriously? McKay wants to dismember people in his staff?” Sheppard made a face.

“Some are infected with his arrogance without having the raw brilliance Rodney shows. I have wanted to kill a few myself. Unfortunately, Gibbs finds such actions unacceptable. Were I to do such a thing, Gibbs would no longer be willing to join with me.”

Sheppard’s gave Samas a sharp look. “Would he have a choice?”

Samas paused as he considered how much the goa’uld perversion of their culture had poisoned humans to hate them all. “I have to come out eventually. I do not actually fit well inside this body. All Gibbs has to do is refuse to come back to the waters and allow me in.”

Samas could taste the confusion, but it was soft version of that emotion, not one likely to cause rash actions. Gibbs suggested they had given the major enough to think about. However, on that last, Samas disagreed. Gibbs braced himself, and then Samas burst out his mouth.

Sheppard fell back, his hand going to his gun even as his eyes got huge. However, Samas curled around Gibbs’ neck. They had separated and rejoined so often that the flesh of Gibb’s throat had healed around a narrow slit, so Gibbs did not even bleed.

“Sir,” Gibbs said, “this is Samas. He is not going to challenge anyone for power.”

Samas opened his fins and vibrated them, shaking them free of the cramps he would get when he was in Gibbs too long. His four part jaws opened and then snapped closed with a hard clacking sound. 

“Asking if he would want to take over is like asking if a dolphin is likely to stage a coup to take over a lion pride. We are different species.”

“The goa’uld took over.” Sheppard immediately ran a hand over his face. “I know, I know. O’Neill kept telling me that I can’t consider Samas a goa’uld. The problem is that I didn’t know anything about goa’uld until a couple of weeks before all this happened. Honestly, gunny, talk to me.”

Gibbs had a lot of sympathy for this young officer. “Sir, I am not a threat. If you give me an order, I will carry it out. If that order is too dangerous, Samas may choose to stay behind, but he has a fairly high threshold for what he defines as dangerous and an even greater belief in his own ability to survive. Dr. Weir probably does sense Samas’ general disrespect for her leadership style, but he would prefer that the expedition be led by a queen, and an onac queen is a demanding, dangerous, shrewd creature who will do anything to protect her brood. Weir would have to be willing to eat her enemies alive in order to protect her genetic lines before Samas would have a lot of respect.”

“Maybe we can avoid that,” Sheppard suggested with a grimace. “In fact, let’s avoid any discussion of cannibalism anywhere that Elizabeth might overhear it.”

“Yes, sir. And you should also know that onac culture always existed next to a host culture. Samas wanted the animals because the real onac culture always included a land-based society of hosts in the near vicinity. Onac wanted hosts that were strong and daring—warriors who could go with the onac on incredibly dangerous missions before the onac had to return to the waters. The onac are storytellers by nature, and the better the story they can tell, the more status they have and the more likely they are to tempt a queen into choosing their DNA for breeding. A weak host culture means weak onac, and that is not acceptable.”

“So Samas wants us strong? Gunny, there is no onac culture here for us to play host to, and if there were, SGC personnel are not likely to want to play host.”

“Just because it’s impossible to create the world Samas wants, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t instinctively try to recreate what he knows. He wants us strong, but he doesn’t want to be part of us. He wants to be part of a culture that lives alongside us, not among us.”

Sheppard rubbed the back of his neck. “I think you’re telling me I need to go talk to our anthropologist about culture and shit, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir.”

“But you can honestly say that Samas is not a threat to Weir?”

“One hundred percent, sir. Samas would only strike if he had clear and unambiguous proof that Weir was trying to kill him.”

Sheppard ran his hands through his hair, and several of his cowlicks changed direction. “If you think you have that evidence, maybe you could talk to me first.”

“Yes, sir.”

With a quick nod, Sheppard turned to leave. 

“Sir,” Gibbs called out.

Sheppard looked back. “Gunny?”

“Samas is more than a lab tech, and I have more experience with a gun than a computer. If you have missions, we would be an asset.” Gibbs waited. When he’d approached Sumner, he hadn’t even gotten this far, but Sheppard seemed to be considering it.

“Send me a briefing on your skill set and any tactical advantages Samas has in the field. I’ll review the gate teams.”

Gibbs nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

Sheppard smiled and headed out. He was going to be one of the good ones, Gibbs could tell. Gibbs looked at Samas and willed him to get back inside. Samas could read human emotions well enough that he knew exactly what Gibbs wanted, but he still refused to join. Instead he stretched out his fins and rattled them, the way onac would before battle. Stubborn bastard. Well, if Samas insisted and staying outside Gibbs, it was time to shock the hell out of all the little SGC soldiers as Gibbs headed down to the water’s edge.

Maybe they’d even have a chance to get out and explore their new galaxy.


	4. On Dagas searching for a ZPM

Tony smiled at one of the women who brought the team food. Dagan was a good planet with some very nice eye candy. Gibbs reached under the table and grabbed Tony by the crotch. Tony gave a manly sort of yelp. Several of the women started giggling.

“I’m just appreciating the food, boss,” Tony said with his best smile. Flirting was second nature to him. Besides, Tony liked giving the boss a chance to exhibit a little possessiveness.

Gibbs grunted before he reached over and stole a piece of bread.

“Hey!” Tony complained. It was expected.

“Ignore them,” Sheppard said, but Ford was grinning like an idiot.

Samas turned to Allina, the woman who had been helping them in their quest to find the hidden ZPM. “So, you have held these clues since the Ancestors left?" Samas asked. Tony looked up. Samas didn't usually make an appearance off-world, not unless there were Wraith to be killed. He did like his violence.

Allina nodded. "My people were very devoted."

"They must have been. The fact that the Wraith took them all is a great tragedy." Samas' words were stilted enough that even Sheppard caught on to the fact that Samas was speaking. He looked up from his dinner plate, the hint of a frown on his face.

"It is," Allina agreed. Okay, something was up because Samas leaned forward to touch the back of her hand. Gibbs was not one to touch, and Samas generally only touched people when he was trying to get a better read on their emotional state.

"You must be glad to have one back then."

Allina looked around at their gathering. Ford, Rodney, Teyla, Rodney and Tony represented Atlantis along with Gibbs and Samas. Several archeologists from Dagan had joined them in their search to find the ZPM, which the people of Dagan considered a holy relic. "One who?" she asked with a look around the table.

"An Ancestor," Samas said calmly. Ford dropped his fork and looked at Samas like he'd just come popping out of Gibbs' head, but everyone else seemed to be frozen in place.

"An Ancestor has returned?" Allina looked mildly alarmed now.

Samas shrugged. "Not that he would admit it. Many Ancestors left for the Milky Way, which is our home. That's why so many of us have Ancestors as forefathers."

"Dr. McKay did say you were not from the city of the Ancestors," Allina agreed slowly, and Tony could almost feel her discomfort. She was hiding something. 

Immediately Sheppard turned and frowned at Rodney. "Did he?" Sheppard drawled, and Rodney had the good sense to start squirming. Yeah, that was a pretty serious mistake, and Tony was feeling bad about the tongue lashing Rodney was about to get.

Samas went plowing right into the middle of all that unhappiness, which was not Samas’ usual MO. "The remainder of the Ancestors ascended. They left their physical bodies behind and became creatures of pure energy. Isn't that right, Teyla?" Samas sounded so casual, but Tony could see the whole team had gone on alert. Ford looked downright constipated about it, but he never had been comfortable around Samas, and Samas went out of his way to make the lieutenant look like an idiot. It left Gibbs trying to play mediator, and Gibbs sucked as a mediator.

"It is," Teyla agreed calmly, but her body was certainly poised for action, not that she ever let her guard down completely.

Allina certainly looked interested.

Samas nodded with this expression of wisdom, like he’d seen everything. Then again, he was a five thousand year old igigi queen, so he came as close as a being could. "Those Ancestors very rarely return to us. Orlin came back for a short time back on our home world, Chaya ascended and still takes human form every now and then, and then Daniel Jackson ascended to join the Ancestors and then came back over a year later. So to have an actual Ancestor return to human form is a great honor."

"An Ancestor returned to human form?" Allina echoed, and Tony had to admit that he wasn't tracking this conversation any better than she was.

Samas leaned in and gave her a conspiratorial smile. "Major Sheppard over there... he has a rather remarkable past."

Allina's gaze went to him.

"What? No. I'm not an Ancestor. Damn it McKay, what did you tell them?" Sheppard turned on McKay, all angles and anger.

"Me? I didn't say anything."

"Except that Chaya, who is an Ancestor, left her home and was willing to risk losing her whole planet just to spend a few hours with Major Sheppard,” Samas said with a smile.

McKay cringed. "Okay, I might have said that, but only because it's true.” McKay poked his finger at Sheppard and the corners of his mouth turned down. “I told you something was wrong with her, that she wasn't human, and you were all over her, you and glowy sex and don't think I don't know about that."

Major Sheppard turned a rather brilliant shade of red, but Tony wasn't sure if that was embarrassment or anger. "She was lonely," he said through gritted teeth.

Samas nodded. "No doubt. For thousands of years, she had only humans, so when you offered your company, that must have been a great relief for her. How long do you think it had been since she saw another Ancestor? No doubt that is why she abandoned her duties in order to spend time with you."

"She wasn't spending time with me," Sheppard practically growled.

"I don't know," Tony said, "she asked about you a lot." Tony had no idea what Samas' plan was, but he was prepared to back it up to the every end, even if he ended up pissing off Sheppard and mashing tava beans for the foreseeable future.

Teyla looked thoughtful. "She did."

"And glowy sex," Rodney added with a small, unhappy twist of his lips. Jealousy was not a good look on him. Tony almost felt sympathy--after all, he'd spent way too much time pining after Gibbs. 

"I doubt an Ancestor would choose any sort of sex with one who was not her equal," Samas commented.

Major Sheppard's glare turned toward him.

"He did learn the technology fast," Rodney commented, and Tony could see McKay's big brain starting to spin in tight little circles around the evidence. "I mean, when we first came through, the whole city was underwater and flooding. John managed to jump in the one and only jumper that could time travel. Then, even though he'd never seen a puddle jumper before, he managed to launch it, control the time device, and go back in time to the one moment when he could save us." Rodney gave Sheppard a very odd look. "That's a little like a monkey finding a piano and deciding to play Mozart." Wisely Rodney didn't mention that this all took place in another reality, one where all of them died except for Weir, who stuck around the city for 10,000 years to save the rest of them.

"You could use the Ancestor's tools that easily?" Allina asked. Several of the other natives pressed closer, and even Tony could feel the attitudes in the room shifting. He just didn’t know what they were shifting away from or toward. Hopefully Samas was reading the emotions in this room because Tony could not get a handle on what sort of crazy they had going on.

Sheppard frowned at her. "It's because of the gene. I have an Ancestor in the old family tree."

"So do I," Tony said. Dr. Beckett says my gene is just as strong, and I struggle to get anything to work for me. It takes me days to figure some stuff out, and other gadgets won't work at all. You pick them up and they just immediately start working."

Rodney got his fingers snapping, which usually meant his big brain had settled on some conclusion. "Colonel O'Neill needed to have an Ancient library downloaded into his head before he could use most of the equipment, and even then, it nearly killed him," Rodney said thoughtfully. "And he's one of the strongest gene carriers out there."

"I did not know that," Teyla said. She turned and studied Sheppard with a new eye.

"Oh no. I am not an Ancestor," Sheppard said firmly. "We are not talking about this because I am not an Ancestor." It took a lot to get Sheppard angry, but he was well on his way. Tough shit. Tony would back Gibbs and Samas every time. Hell, Tony wasn't even in the military, so Sheppard could suck it up.

"That's not my favorite story," Tony said slowly, forcing the others to turn toward him before he spoke.

"DiNozzo," Sheppard warned darkly.

Tony grinned at him. "On our planet, very few people know about the Ring of Ancestors."

"Truly?" Allina interrupted?

"Not relevant," Sheppard snapped.

"Truly," Tony agreed. "And Sheppard was one of those people who had no clue that it even existed."

Sheppard stood up. "DiNozzo, can I speak to you outside?" Sheppard was so carefully controlled that Tony knew he was in deep shit, but he wasn't going to quit now.

"When Major Sheppard was taking some to our base, he was flying a ship called a helicopter that goes very slow compared to the Ancestor's technology. While Sheppard was flying near the Ancestor's base, a weapon fired a missile at him. This powerful weapon chased Sheppard's helicopter all over the sky, never hitting him, even though it was much faster. Eventually Sheppard landed, and the Ancestor's weapon landed and then deactivated right in front of Sheppard. It meant that our leaders had to tell him the secret.”

Samas nodded. "The Ancestors had to make sure that Sheppard was allowed to come home."

"And then he walks into the base and just happens to sit down on the control chair that ran the whole base," Rodney said. He was starting to talk fast now. "He could have sat anywhere else, but he sat on the control chair."

"It was a chair! Of course I sat on it!" Sheppard snapped.

"And then you could immediately control technology you'd never seen before," Rodney shot back, his eyes narrowed. Even Ford was starting to look a little shaken.

"Because I have the gene." Sheppard collapsed back down into his seat.

"Yeah, the first dozen times I sat in that control chair, I couldn't even get it to glow." Tony poked his thumb in Sheppard’s direction. "Mr. Ancestor over there could turn it on."

"That's Major Ancestor to you," Rodney said.

"Rodney!" Sheppard was so tense that Tony was afraid the man was going to snap some internal organ. After all, Sheppard’s poor body was way too used to slouching for that sort of stiff spine posture he had going now.

Ford gave an awkward laugh. "I think the Major would know if he was an Ancestor."

"No he wouldn't," Rodney said. "When Orlin de-ascended, having all that information overloaded his brain. He couldn’t survive. That’s why when Daniel Jackson came back, he had nothing in his brain. It all got wiped out. Gone.”

“Rodney, I have parents who definitely aren’t Ancestors.” Sheppard spoke slowly. He was definitely trying to avoid blowing up.

Rodney waved his hand dismissively. “Of course they had to get the body from somewhere, Sheppard. Mass cannot be created out of the air, and if you want to avoid too much attention, you would need to seem normal, not that you’re normal.”

Sheppard’s face lost all emotion as he looked at Rodney.

“Have not the Ancestors refused to become directly involved in the past?” Teyla asked. 

“Which is why he would have to give up his memory,” Rodney said. “Oh my God. How did I not notice this before? It all makes sense.”

“No, it makes no sense.” Sheppard got up and stormed out of the room. The people of Dagan fell away, clearing a path fast enough that a middle aged man tripped over a chair and nearly fell on his face before someone else caught his arm.

Allina looked around the room, her eyes large. Tony did the same, but he doubted that she noticed the same things he did.

Samas looked very satisfied. Whatever he’d been trying to do, he’d accomplished it. Rodney looked a little like he’d been hit in the face by a two-by-four. Teyla had an expression that suggested she planned to meditate a lot, and Ford reminded Tony of a kid who’s been told Christmas was cancelled. More importantly, the people of Dagan had awed expression that suggested the believed it all. Passionately. Fervently. Fervent people scared Tony a little.

“Oh my God,” Rodney repeated. “He could have all the secrets of the Ancients in that brain of his under all that hair. And his hair… it makes more sense now.”

“Rodney, perhaps it is best to not press this issue. Whether this is true or not, Sheppard is unlikely to wish to speak of it,” Teyla suggested.

“But do you believe it?” Allina asked.

Teyla looked at her and smiled.

“We should check on Sheppard,” Samas said as he stood. “Tony.”

“On it, boss,” Tony agreed. Personally, he would rather avoid Sheppard right now, but if the major decided to shoot Gibbs, a witness might convince him to shoot Gibbs in the leg instead of in the head. Gibbs strode out, and Tony was not even going to guess why Gibbs was in charge now. The ways of his boss were no less mysterious now that he understood the duel life of Gibbs and Samas.

Tony followed, but they didn’t walk far. Sheppard was standing under a tree, his hand resting on his weapon as he watched the horizon. Hopefully he wasn’t going to use his weapon.

“Sir?” Gibbs asked. Sheppard glanced over, his expression guarded.

“Gunny, he had better have a good explanation. Right now, I’m considering exiling him to the water because we cannot afford to create some fucking cult, and I really will not stand for anyone turning me into a messiah figure.”

“No, sir,” Gibbs agreed. He moved closer, and Tony fell in, watching their six. He kept his own P90 close, even though he trusted Gibbs and Samas to warn him if anyone came near. “If it makes you feel better, Samas did ask me before he used that particular strategy.”

Sheppard straightened up and turned to face Gibbs. “It doesn’t. It makes me question your motives.”

“To protect Atlantis and Earth.”

Tony also suspected that the baby onac under Atlantis figured into the equation, but he wasn’t going to mention that. He just really hoped Gibbs and Samas had a damn good plan because someone would notice eventually.

“How does this further your mission goals, gunny?”

“Faith, religious zealousness in particular, has a certain scent to it.”

Suddenly all of Sheppard’s attention was focused on Gibbs. “And those people are religious nuts?”

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs agreed. “They want someone to worship, and they were helping us until Rodney mentioned that we weren’t from Atlantis originally. Then the scents started shifting toward deception and aggression.”

Sheppard sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. “Damn it, Rodney,” he whispered. “Still, you didn’t have to throw me under the bus. Rodney is overreacting about all that Chaya stuff. I’m not even sure you could call what we did sex. There was no nudity involved. And now he’s never going to drop it.”

“Because the pieces fit,” Gibbs said.

Tony was thinking the same damn thing. All laid out at once, it was a lot of evidence, and Tony was used to following the evidence, even when it led to a pretty damn improbably place.

“You can’t… I’m not an Ancient,” Sheppard snapped. “I’m about to drag all of you back to Carson and have you drug tested. Those medicinal plants we brought are not to be used recreationally. I thought I made that very clear to all the little botanists.” He scrubbed his fingers through his hair and looked utterly distressed.

Gibbs shifted, and then Samas was there. “Given the Ori, I’m sure the idea of anyone worshipping you is abhorrent.”

Sheppard snorted. “The whole idea of me being an Ancient is ridiculous.”

“Perhaps,” Samas agreed, “or perhaps you have been conditioned to reject the idea. Accepting it might cause you to seek knowledge forbidden you in this form.”

Sheppard looked over. “Gunny.” His whole face twisted with pain. “Don’t do this. Don’t make the weight of that whole fucked up world fall on my shoulders.”

“It does not, John. The Ancients made their errors, and if you are one of them in human form, that means you chose to walk away from them. Their mistakes are not yours,” Samas said in a gentle voice, one normally reserved for victims and children.

Tony got it, because the major was putting out every sign of being a victim. The problem was that nothing on Dagas warranted that kind of reaction, which made Tony suspect that Samas was right. The major had walked away from this fucked up species to try and save humanity. Okay, given how often Sheppard did truly stupid things in the name of saving others, that actually made some sense.

“This is a game. Bates warned me that your species play a lot of mind games.” Sheppard physically pulled back, retreating into the shadow of the tree.

Samas took a step back as well. “Tony, would you hold me for a time?” Samas asked, and for one second, Tony thought he’d just gotten the world’s strangest and most inappropriately timed come-on line. However then Samas came out of Gibbs’ mouth. The small dragonlike form wrapped around Gibbs’ arm and then Gibbs was reaching out.

“Of course.” Tony held out his hand, and Samas slid over his skin. He felt warm and soft, his body undulating like a snake while his fins spread out like a small dragon. He truly was beautiful.

“Sir, it’s just us,” Gibbs said, and if Samas has lost your trust enough that you choose to banish him to the water, we will both accept that. However, remember that Samas has to live with the fact that part of his species became the goa’uld. His entire race is on the brink of extinction and humanity has been enslaved for five thousand years. Every time Bates looks at us, that’s what he thinks about. I understand that the very thought that you could be an Ancient bothers you. It would bother the shit out of me, sir.”

Sheppard snorted.

“However, we need the ZPM. These people will not give it to us unless we meet their religious expectations.”

“And you couldn’t come up with a less disturbing lie?”

“Not on short notice.”

Sheppard looked up. “And why couldn’t you brief me on this?”

“Because McKay made that comment less than an hour ago. If any of those people had left the dining hall, they would have had a chance to contact others and make plans that might have been against the best interests of Atlantis and Earth.”

“And if we left the room to talk, that would have been the perfect opportunity for them to leave the room,” Sheppard finished for him. 

“Yes, sir.”

Even though Tony knew Gibbs had been in the Marines—obviously—he still disliked hearing Gibbs ‘Yes, sir’ anyone. In Tony’s book, Gibbs would always be the top dog.

“Will they give us the ZPM now?”

“If we find it, yes, I think they will,” Gibbs said. “However, they are deeply religious and deeply connected to the Ancients. I think we should offer to let them come back and study the ancient texts we found in that library that McKay turned over to the soft sciences. There’s nothing there beyond philosophy, but the opportunity to learn Ancient and touch the texts their heroes once touched would certainly cement their loyalty and ensure that we get the ZPM.”

“You want to take them back to Atlantis?” And that was Sheppard’s shocked voice. That was the tone he used when Rodney tried to suggest that pushing errant engineers off the east pier might make good search and rescue practice for the Marines. Tony was pretty sure Rodney was only mostly kidding.

Tony’s brain was running around like a crack money on a hamster wheel, but Gibbs was as calm as always. “I think offering to allow them to translate texts that we don’t have time to translate would ensure that they would want to help us.”

Sheppard ran a hand over his face. “Bates and I told Elizabeth that we couldn’t go inviting people into the city. It’s a security risk.”

Gibbs took a step to the side and looked out at the fields of Dagan. “Samas knows a lot about keeping places secure. The goa’uld are just as territorial as onac, even if they define their territories by the number of planets they control instead of a particular section of a river.”

“And?” Sheppard asked when Gibbs had been silent too long. Tony wondered if the major recognized that Gibbs was essentially using interrogation techniques.

“And goa’uld either kept a place entirely hidden and secret, as Ra did with Earth, or they shared openly with everyone. They also had great pleasure temples and shared territories where everyone could lay some claim to a small piece. To try and take one of those planets would mean fighting all goa’uld.”

Sheppard didn’t answer immediately. The silence was filled with the chirping of small insects and the distant rumble of a storm on the horizon. “You want to allow anyone on Atlantis?”

“If you allowed the Genii to conduct their nuclear experiments in one of our labs under McKay’s supervision, then those Genii would argue strenuously to protect the alliance.”

“Or they would try and take the city.”

“That would be difficult if you asked Athosians to open some of the gardens and hydroponics labs we have found and if you invite Keras to send some of his people to train as apprentice. They don’t know how to be adults, Major. We could use the help, and they could use the mentoring. The few Hoff who survived are used to city living, and I bet they have some plumbers. McKay’s right that we brought too many geeks and too few grease monkeys who can do the work without blowing someone up. The Manarians are arrogant asses, but I bet some of their people are nicer than their leaders. They have cities, so I even bet they have plumbers, and I know they have farmers for those hydroponics labs.”

Sheppard didn’t answer, and Tony found himself holding his breath. That ended when Samas nipped his ear.

“How long have you and Samas been thinking about this?”

“A long time,” Gibbs agreed. 

“And you’re only bringing this up now because…?”

“Bates wouldn’t have listened.”

“You outrank him, gunny.”

“We both know that rank doesn’t matter as long as I’m a host. Reactivating me was the Navy’s way of controlling me.”

Sheppard shook his head, but even in the low light of the moon he looked amused. “And here I thought I had authority issues.” 

“I had authority issues before you decided to give up glowing for another round of this corporeal misery,” Gibbs said. It looked like Sheppard was going to say something, but Gibbs kept right on going. “Even if you reject the others, consider allowing those from Dagas to help the translators with the philosophy texts. It won’t matter to us, but it will mean everything to them.”

“And Weir has been trying to get me to reconsider my security rules,” Sheppard said. “As a bonus, I can really freak her out by pointing out that you’re the one making her case. She’s almost over her belief that you want her dead, but knowing that you took her side in this fight would… it would tickle my anti-authority funny bone,” Sheppard said.

“It must kill you to be the commander in charge,” Gibbs said.

“You have no idea,” Sheppard agreed wryly. “You have first watch. I’m going to get Teyla and head back to talk to Weir.”

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs agreed. 

Shepard gave him a quick nod and then strode back toward the dinner hall. Tony waited until Sheppard had left before he walked over to Gibbs. Surprisingly, Samas didn’t go right back, he tightened his tail around Tony’s neck and shook his fins at the air.

“How much of that was true?” Tony asked softly.

Gibbs reached out and slipped his fingers under Tony’s belt and pulled him closer. “All of it.” Gibbs gave him a quick kiss, a chaste brush of soft lips against Tony’s and then he took a step back. No hanky-panky on watch. Given the trouble the Atlantis folk had a habit of falling into, Tony agreed with that rule. 

“Why is Samas still hanging around my neck?” Tony asked. He reached up to stroke one finger along Samas’ tail. Samas retaliated with a tighten of his body around Tony’s neck and a clacking of sharp teeth right in Tony’s ear. Right, no petting the onac.

“He keeps picking up on some scent that’s bothering him, but he can’t figure out what. He thought it might help to use his own senses instead of mine.”

“Which means you’re back to squinting at things,” Tony pointed out.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “Fine, take watch, and I’ll keep an eye on your six.”

Tony smiled. “On it, boss.” The night seemed quiet, but Tony did study the shadows the way Gibbs had taught him. “Do you think Sheppard will let them come to Atlantis?”

Gibbs took his time answering, but then Gibbs generally did when a commanding officer wasn’t around. “Sheppard is new to command, which means he’s listening to his NCOs a little too much, especially when Bates is too cautious.”

“Bates will do everything to convince Sheppard to keep Atlantis on lockdown.”

Gibbs shrugged. “And Sheppard is going to have to decide what kind of city he wants to lead. At least we’re giving him another point of view.”

“Speak for yourself,” Tony said. “I give him heartburn, not another point of view.”

“You two are too much alike,” Gibbs said, chuckling. “One of these days you’re both going to have to admit that you act like you don’t care about anything only because you both care too damn much.”

“Me? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tony said with a cheesy grin. Gibbs just gave a little huff.

Honestly thought, Tony hoped he was wrong. Sometimes Tony felt sick about all the people who were hurt, and he couldn’t offer them the sort of justice he had given victims back home. He felt so damn helpless, and if Sheppard felt that—if he felt that useless even when he was in command of the military that wasn’t doing a damn thing to save all these people from ending up as food…. Well, Tony would need to be on suicide watch if he carried all the burdens Sheppard did. Hopefully the Ancients were made of firmer psychological stock.


	5. Chapter 5

John leaned against the door and watched with amusement as Rodney ripped some random scientist up one side and down the other. The man could have taught a drill sergeant a thing or two about public humiliation and volume. The worst part was that the other scientists were largely ignoring the floor show. Only Samas and Zelenka glanced over from time to time.

“Next time you feel like doing something that stupid, don’t!” Rodney finished. He reached over and slammed the laptop closed, and the nervous-looking man who had just taken the tongue lashing jerked his fingers back before Rodney could crush them.

“Did you want something, major, or are you standing there holding up my wall?” Rodney whirled around, and the latest victim of Rodney’s rage took the opportunity to run like hell.

“I was just seeing what you’re up to,” John said with his ‘disarm the natives’ smile. He couldn’t tell if Rodney was in a bad mood or just being Rodney.

“As you can see, I’m having to babysit morons and check people’s homework like I’m some sort of teacher. Do I look like a teacher to you?”

“No?” John guessed.

Rodney huffed at him. “I’m never going to get the new ZPM hooked up at this rate. I’m a busy man Sheppard, so talk fast.”

John had about given up and staged a strategic retreat when Tony came up behind him. “Ask him to lunch. He can never resist the call of the wild MRE.”

“Do not encourage him to waste my time,” Rodney warned, poking his finger in Tony’s direction. “I have to get the ZPM hooked up. We have to contact Earth and test the shields and with more power, I can get better resolution on long-range sensors.”

“And you’ll still see three hive ships coming this direction,” Samas said. “Take a break, doctor.”

Rodney narrowed his eyes and gave Samas a truly withering glare. “You are not my boss.”

Samas pushed back from the table. “No, but I’m your best coder, and if you annoy me, I shall decide to go hunting in the waters around Atlantis for the next three days.”

John could see Rodney physically flinch at the thought. “You wouldn’t.” Whatever tone Rodney was going for, he ended up sounding a little panicked and whiny. 

Tony leaned against the table and gave Rodney a sympathetic look. “Years, Rodney. I’ve had to put up with him for years, and when he threatens something, it’s less a threat, and more a statement of absolute truth. Go to lunch. I’ll put Samas in a better mood.” Tony wiggled his eyebrows to make it perfectly clear exactly what he planned to do to improve the scientist’s mood. John made a mental note to have a conversation about taking their prey games away from the populated areas before they traumatized any more Marines. Marines were just not mentally equipped to handle their gunnery sergeant hunting down a civilian and pinning him up against the wall before mauling him. The fact that their clothing had stayed on had been the only saving grace.

Rodney huffed. “If you weren’t the best coder I have….”

Zelenka looked up. “What am I? Chopped cabbage?”

“No, you change my code.”

“When I have code to work better!”

“Your code never works better than mine!”

“You arrogant—” and from there Zelenka broke out the Czech cursing. At least John assumed it was cursing. The man could have been reciting a recipe for cheese blintzes for all John knew, but it sure sounded like cursing.

“Whatever! I’m leaving!” Rodney slammed down some tool he’d been poking in the direction of his earlier victim and then he stomped out of the room, right past Sheppard without pausing.

“You’d better catch him,” Tony suggested.

“Make sure he gets good meal. Too many power bars—bad for his digestion,” Zelenka added.

“Right.” John backed away from all the crazy people. Seriously, how did he get trapped on a base full of insane civilians? One of these days he was going to write a very strongly worded letter to General O’Neill for getting him in this mess, but right now, he was going to chase down Rodney.

Luckily, Rodney wasn’t all that hard to find. He had made it to the nearest transporter, and he stood waiting, one finger tapping impatiently. “Finally. If they’re out of grilled cheese sandwiches, I’m holding you responsible.”

“Sorry,” John said, although he wasn’t actually sure what he was apologizing for. He’d just found it was a little easier to go along with Hurricane Rodney than to try and fight the headwinds, so he got in the transporter and let Rodney touch the screen for the dining room area. They stepped out, and Rodney strode through the hall, forcing others to move to the side.

“Is Samas really your best coder?” John asked. Most of the time, he saw Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs. That man was a hardass who made the Marines drill until their aim was perfect. He then practically shamed them into visiting Teyla for ass kicking lessons—something about a broke-down gunny and a tiny woman kicking all their asses, and no Marines in his corps were going to lay down and take that. John never could have used that tone, but symbiote or not, the men knew Gibbs was a Marine, so they fought to live up to his definition of Marine-tough. Personally, John didn’t mind admitting that Teyla could kick his ass from here to infinity.

“Best at getting the code debugged and adapting it given particular parameters, yes,” Rodney said. “Onac aren’t creative. He can’t create entirely new code, but then that’s an advantage. I have a lab full of morons who think they can do everything better than any other person here. I want to kill them all, some days. Did you know that when an onac doesn’t like what an underling has done, he just eats them and then vomits the parts out onto dry land where the DNA won’t be taken up by a queen?” Rodney sounded envious.

John grimaced. “He mentioned something. Look, maybe we can avoid cannibalism in the lunch room,” he suggested quietly.

Rodney gave him an incredulous look, but honestly John didn’t know if that was “I can’t believe you think I’d discuss cannibalism around people who are eating,” or “I can’t believe you think I care about other people’s digestion.” Honestly, it was probably the second one.

“You wanted to talk, so talk,” Rodney said as he headed for the counter. They did have grilled cheese, and Rodney quickly ordered two, ignoring the mystery meat in thick gravy, tava bean casserole, and John’s favorite—breek. The deep fried pastry was filled with egg, something that might be onion, dried chili powder from back home, and a little cheese. They were probably horrible nutritionally, but luckily, Atlantis was short one base nutritionist, and food wasn’t so plentiful that they could afford to waste it. So, the cafeteria offered up a lot of egg and cheese heavy dishes loaded down with calories and cholesterol. It was heaven.

John slid his tray along and claimed three small breek along with some tava bean casserole so he could at least claim to have eaten something healthy. “How’s it going in the labs?” John asked.

Rodney gave him an incredulous look. “Have you hit your head particularly hard in the last twenty-four hours?”

“Um, no?”

Rodney rolled his eyes and took his tray toward their normal table. John smiled his thanks at the private serving up the food and followed. He had no more than taken a seat when Rodney started in.

“Okay, whatever asinine idea you have floating around under that hair of yours, just spit it out.” Worse, he looked worried—defensive almost. That had not been John’s goal. When Tony had pinned him down in a storage closet and warned him that Rodney was easily hurt and Tony would find a way to make John’s life a long series of miserable events if he did any of the hurting, John had assumed Tony was slightly insane. However, Rodney did have a soft belly under all his prickles.

“Do you need plumbers?” John blurted out.

Rodney blinked at him. That’s all. John had finally found a way to leave Rodney speechless, and it turned out that the path to blissful silence came through plumbers. There was irony there somewhere.

“Do I need… plumbers?” Rodney’s voice went up. “You mean actual hands-on craftsman who fix things instead of arguing about a million different ways to redesign them before complaining bitterly at being asked to raise a finger and actually do the work required to make these things happen in the real world? Do you mean that kind of plumber?”

“I’m not sure because I lost you in the middle, but I think the answer is yes,” John said slowly. That earned another eyeroll.

“Why are you asking me? Is this some sadistic part of you poking its little head up?”

“So, do I assume that means you need some?”

Mouth full of food, Rodney answered, “I would sacrifice Zelenka’s first born child for one.”

“Then why don’t we have one?”

Rodney swallowed. “Because the SGC is full of scientists, not people who actually make things happen. I tried to coopt some of the Army Corps of Engineers, but apparently I got vetoed and they didn’t have clearance.”

John frowned. This was his base and his people. He didn’t like the thought that they didn’t have the workers they needed. “What sort of tradesworkers did you ask for?”

“Plumbers, welders, electricians, metalsmiths, steeplejacks—”

“Steeplejacks?” John interrupted.

“Steeplejacks. We assumed we were going to have some tall buildings if the legends were anything to go by, and a steeplejack is a skilled worker who scales ridiculously tall buildings using a rope harness, and who can repair things while dangling at death-defying heights.”

“Oh.” John had no idea such a job even existed, but Rodney was off and running again, and John tried to actually follow. 

“Machinists, glass makers, pipefitters, surveyors, carpenters, and general repairmen—someone with experience with city systems. Sewers are sewers, you know.”

John blinked. That was a huge list. If Rodney hired just one of each, that would be a significant influx of new people. While John was willing to give Samas’ plan a try, he wasn’t comfortable with a flood of strangers wandering around his city.

“Okay,” John said slowly.

Rodney studied him like John was some city system that wasn’t reacting exactly the way Rodney wanted. “Why do you care about my staffing problems? Civilians are Elizabeth’s purview.” 

“Yes, yes they are.” And John was eternally grateful. “But Elizabeth’s been suggesting that we have a more open door policy, and Samas seems to think that if we had a few people here from other cultures, we might actually end up in a better situation with our security.”

“Huh. How would that work?” Rodney leaned forward, his elbows on the table.

“If everyone feels like they have a piece of Atlantis, everyone will be willing to kick the ass of anyone who tries to get greedy.”

“That would go for us too,” Rodney pointed out.

John ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah, I know. But honestly, the IOC is not the most reasonable bunch. Maybe a few checks and balances on them would be good.” And John was never going to admit that he had gotten that bit of wisdom from Teyla—right after Teyla had spent five or six hours sparring with Samas and discussing Earth’s political situation. Sadly, John trusted that Teyla understood human politics better than him at this point; however, admitting that the military commander of Atlantis was taking advice from an onac by way of an Athosian would not make the IOC love him.

Rodney grunted, so John took that as agreement. “So, you want to hire some tradesmen?”

John nodded. “We both know the Hoff are going to get wiped out next time the Wraith visit, but they’re an industrialized world, and I get the feeling that the fact that hive ships are headed for us is not going to pose that much of a deterrent.”

“What are we paying them?” Rodney had that tone of voice that meant he was already calculating the size and shape of the matter in his head.

“How bad do we need them?”

Rodney sighed, and all that bluff and bluster vanished leaving Rodney looking like a washed out dishrag.

“Rodney?”

“My people are good, but they’re not craftsmen. I end up having to redo their work. They make mistakes, and one of these days, I’m going to have a lot of people die because a weld fails. My people can calculate the exact pressure required to form complex compounds, but they aren’t good with hammers, screwdrivers, and blow torches. Zelenka and Samas are the only other ones that have any proficiency with the hard labor of actually fixing things as opposed to drawing plans and supervising others.”

John had always assumed that Rodney’s gruff treatment of his staff came from a place of arrogance and irritation, but now John could see the sort of fear that every military officer knew. Rodney had too few resources, and the only way to protect his people was to scream at them until they did the impossible. A deep feeling of unease settled into John’s gut as he realized that Rodney’s bluster was hiding a larger problem than John had thought.

“How many do you truly need, Rodney? Need?”

Rodney leaned back. “At least three plumbers and three electricians. We really do need a steeplejack and one or two welders or metal smiths. Know this… I will sign off on every single person you bring in here. No one touches my systems unless I am one hundred percent sure they have the skills to do the job, and if you try bringing in people I haven’t put through a whole series of tests to assess their proficiency, I will take up the onac method of reducing stupidity in the gene pool. Actually, I think the onac are rather practical about their gene pool.” Rodney set his jaw as if expecting a fight.

John had to give the man credit for having balls. He did not back down when he believed in something, and John respected that.

“Elizabeth and I discussed having you go to Hoff and interview anyone who volunteers. We’re planning to offer family quarters in the short blue tower off B sector, full access to the recreational areas, free food, and a chance to really piss off the Wraith.”

“Family quarters? You’re bringing whole families here?”

John shrugged. Honestly, he had argued against that, but once he’d given in on the whole issue of having Pegasus natives in the city at all, he’d quickly lost the rest of that fight. 

“Getting to kick Wraith ass will tempt them,” Rodney said. “If you do this, you also need teachers who can work with the kids, people who can open more of the open air gardens over in sector 7B or another hydroponics lab, and you’ll probably need to think about entertainers—musicians or storytellers.”

John beamed at Rodney. “Are you considering the happiness and health of other human beings?”

Rodney scowled. “I don’t want rugrats getting in my way. Find a way to keep them entertained and away from me.” With that, Rodney stood and headed for the door. John watched Rodney go, and he found himself doing some mental recalculation. Rodney had some surprising depth to him for someone who so often came off as almost a caricature of a whiny academic.

“This is a very good thing,” Teyla said as she sat down next to John with her food. “I’m glad you’re allowing the families to come.”

John shrugged. “That was Elizabeth’s call. I would just as soon limit it to adults.”

Reaching over, Teyla rested a hand on his arm. “You cannot protect every child, John. Besides, Atlantis is far safer than the rest of this galaxy. If you leave the families of these workers on Hoff, they will all die when the Wraith come.”

“Yeah, and that’s our fault too.” John ran a hand over his face.

“No, it was the choice of a proud people who were tired of being treated as animals to be culled. Allow them their pride in this, John. You wish to protect us all—to redeem those who went before—but we are allies to fight with you. Do not carry so much of this burden that you allow it to harm you.”

“I’m not an Ancient,” John said. “I don’t have to redeem anyone.”

“Of course,” Teyla agreed in that tone of voice that suggested she was agreeing with you only because you were too big of a moron to even bother arguing with. John had a prepared response all ready to go, but then the sound of feet scrambling against the metal floor interrupted him. John sprang to his feet to face the danger, but it was only Tony who came barreling around the corner. 

“Tell him I kept going down the hall,” Tony said, panting as he ran for the kitchens. Oh God. The kitchens. Samas was going to catch Tony in the room that held all their food, and there were some lines that had to be sacred.

Samas came around the corner the second Tony vanished into the back.

“Oh no.” John stepped right into Samas’ path. “You two are not doing this in the kitchens.”

Samas gave John a wicked grin. “Not if he runs fast enough.”

“Not at all. There are certain sanitary—”

“I will run him down and bite him until he submits. I do not plan to spill genetic material anywhere.” 

That was truly the most horrifying description of sex John had ever heard, but before he could say as much or even protest the fact that his men were watching this sexual game Samas played with Tony, the onac caught John under the arms and physically lifted him and tossed him backwards.

It was a toss, not a fling or a lob. John’s feet hit the ground only a couple of feet back, but then John was stumbling backwards, struggling to catch his balance, and utterly failing. At least, he failed until he ran into Teyla, and ninety pounds of Athosian woman had to save him from falling on his ass right in the middle of a dining room full of Marines who all watched with rapt attention.

John would have started bitching, only Samas was already gone.

They were crazy. They were all certifiably crazy, and Kate was going to sign commitment papers for all of them as soon as they reestablished contact with Earth.

“It is good to have a couple that brings such a spirit of playfulness and joy to this place,” Teyla said, verbally offering up her seal of approval. John’s only consolation was that his Marines were looking at her like she’d lost her mind. That was good because she had. 

Yep, John was trapped in the land of crazy people, and the worst thing—for the first time in his life, he fit right in.


	6. Chapter 6

Samas watched as Rodney browbeat another Hoff. Those who took jobs on Atlantis would certainly know ahead of time the nature of their supervisor, but many of the Hoff seemed far more accepting of Rodney than those who had come from Earth. Those of Earth—many of them had been given so many rights for such a long period of time that they did not know how to appreciate the fragility of the life they held. Gibbs agreed with that. He believed that Zelenka was Rodney’s closest friend because understood that Rodney acted out of fear and a need to protect them. Life and security were not guaranteed. 

Sheppard leaned against the wall next to Samas and watched the newest welder attempt to work while Rodney peered over his shoulder. “Any of them looking good?”

“Rodney has described several as not-terrible,” Samas agreed.

“Well, that’s a complement. Someone is telling them that, right? I don’t want the Hoff driving us off with pitchforks and torches.”

Given that hundreds of people had applied for the positions on Atlantis, Samas doubted that they would be driven away. These were a people who had resigned themselves to spitting in the eye of the enemy, and now they were being offered a chance to instead wield a weapon. “They are quite impressed with Rodney. A scientist who can do such manual labor is rare, even on this world.”

Sheppard eyed Rodney with a strange expression. “Yeah, that’s our Rodney. Rare.”

“He drove away those who would help him, so he had to do for himself,” Samas commented. Sheppard frowned at him, it was the sort of expression that meant the man was trying to figure something out.

“Then he made a mistake that could have cost Teal’c his life. His punishment was to be exiled to Russia. They worked him very long hours and often told him how useless he was with people, and that his own government and the Americans had both thrown him away because his mind was not valuable enough to be worth the trouble he caused.” 

Gibbs had gotten half stories out of Rodney, but Samas could smell the emotions that poured from the man, and the rest was not difficult to piece together. Even Tony curbed his normal teasing with Rodney, and any who might push Rodney too hard would find themselves at the total mercy of Tony at his puerile worst. While Rodney was a sharp-tongued man who could defend himself, it bother Tony that he had been forced to do so as often as he had. Tony had his own issues in that regard.

“Huh.” Sheppard didn’t make any other comment.

“Has Rodney not spoken to you about those whom he has chosen?”

“Last time I asked Rodney, he told me he was busy. He then suggested I should go away and play with my hair.” Sheppard rolled his eyes. “He’s obsessed with my hair.”

“Yes,” Samas agreed. After that, there was a period of silence filled only with Rodney berating the welder for not using the proper setting to account for the change in pipe thickness.

Eventually, Sheppard asked, “Are you getting a sense of deceit from any of them?”

“No,” Samas said. “They are nervous, desirous to please, and many smell of grief, no doubt for those who died, but there is no deceit here.”

Sheppard crossed his arms. “That must have been handy back when you and Gibbs were a cop, huh?”

“Not as much as you might imagine. My superiors did not know of my existence, so I was no more than a ‘gut feeling’ that Gibbs was quite famous for having.”

“Right. You know, I just can’t see you two happy being a cop and pretending to be one person. You’re so different.”

“We are not as different as you might believe. We both have a strong desire to protect our own and a belief that one must take action.” Gibbs silently pointed out that they had very different ways of taking that action. Half the time when Samas started coding, Gibbs would doze through the day, too bored to really pay attention. Samas responded by pointing out that he felt the same about Gibbs’ sex life with Tony. Gibbs would tie Tony down and touch him gently, bringing him to the point of release over and over with feather light touch. It was not how Samas preferred to bed the man. Human reproduction might be inefficient, clumsy, and ridiculously impossible to control, but it was fun, at least when Samas initiated it.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to… doing nothing,” Sheppard finished, and then he pushed away from the wall.

“Sheppard,” Samas said, and he turned. “I wish to go through the chappa’ai.”

Again, a long awkward silent rose up between them. “Why?” Sheppard eventually asked, drawling the word so the end of it dragged out.

“I wish not to tell you.”

Sheppard narrowed his eyes and studied him. “Okay, I need to talk to the gunny here, Samas.”

“Of course.” Samas stepped back, and Gibbs moved forward to take his place. “Major,” he said with a nod.

“Gunny, is he going to do something stupid?”

Gibbs reviewed Samas’ plans. “Moderately, sir,” he agreed, “but it has a chance of improving our position here.”

“And do I want to know what this plan is?”

Gibbs smiled. Sheppard was truly learning how to play the game. The man was not stupid. “Sir, I don’t think you want to know about this any more than you would have wanted to know about the plan with the Degans.”

“That does not make me feel better, gunny.”

“Sorry, sir. You can veto this, but I do think Samas has a good plan.”

“One that you can’t tell me about?” Sheppard asked sharply.

“Plausible deniability, sir. Besides, like Weir, you are very entrenched in ways of thinking that are founded on Earth.”

Sheppard took a deep breath and studied him. “And you aren’t?”

Gibbs grinned. “I’ve had twenty years of someone whispering other sorts of truths in my ear. I may be human and from Earth, but my perspectives are a little broader.”

Sheppard checked his watch. “We have five hours, fifteen minutes before we’re scheduled to return to Atlantis. You will place information about where you’re going and why under a locked file in your laptop, which will stay here. In five hours flat, I will tell Rodney to break your code and get that mission briefing, so I expect you to be back before then. Otherwise, gunny, you are going to have to deal with me, and Samas is going to have to deal with Rodney. Clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs agreed. Samas disliked the leash, but quite frankly, Gibbs preferred to have a backup plan, so Samas agreed.

“I’m going to regret this,” Sheppard said with a sigh, “but you have a go. Come back safe, Gibbs.”

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs agreed. He had a mission—one his officer trusted him to carry out on his own. One that required him to go somewhere totally unsupervised. Gibbs was surprised at the depth of the emotion he felt at that simple fact.

Samas sent his regrets that hosting had caused such pain, but Gibbs understood. Samas had saved his life, and after losing Kelly and Shannon, Samas had been the one to save Gibbs’ sanity. Helping to save Samas’ people was the right thing, even if it had put at odds with the SGC and O’Neill. At least they were getting a new start here, among people who accepted both of them. And that’s why Gibbs and Samas had to do whatever they could to put Atlantis in a good position.

Samas quickly typed up a short briefing and Gibbs added a quick apology to Tony for not taking him along. Samas was waiting for the day when the other symbiotes would be old enough to take a host because an onac would make Tony faster and stronger. Samas was not willing to risk his mate without one. Besides, the dozens of small disputes and investigations that landed on Tony’s desk as an NCIS agent afloat, along with the occasional serious investigation such as figuring out that Teyla’s necklace had been the source of Wraith intel on their position, kept Tony busy in the city. He didn’t have time to run around the galaxy, at least not unless they had another mission that required more investigating than shooting.

Without speaking to anyone, Samas passed the dozens of Hoff still waiting for their turn to apply for one of the positions on Atlantis. Samas regretted that Rodney would have to choose so few. For all his lack of social skills, Rodney did care about people. He was horrible at showing it, and his first, second, and third reactions to conflict was to put up an emotional barrier to convince others—and probably himself—that none of it mattered. However, he cared. Once this planet had been destroyed, he would remember all the workers he didn’t choose.

The good news was that Rodney was so out of touch with his own emotions that he would make his decisions out of logic, and that would leave Atlantis with the best possible change of success. The rest would have to sort itself.

The chappa’ai stood in the heart of the town, but the silence was overwhelming. The Hoff drug turned each individual into a poison, but it had also killed far too many. Their cities would never again be full of life, but the hive ship who came here would likely sustain serious damage before discovering that their prey was now poison to them. A Hoff couple nodded their heads, and Samas returned the gesture. Two Atlantis guards stood near the DHD, but neither commented as Samas hit the symbols he had memorized. 

“Need backup, gunny?” one of the Marines asked.

“No, keep sharp,” Gibbs answered, and then Samas moved to the front and they walked through the chappa’ai. 

Samas stepped out into the fading light of sunset on the Genii homeworld. Samas opened his mouth so he could better track the various scents. Many people came through here, which supported one of Samas’ assumptions. If the Genii were wise enough to hide their population and if they were the remains of an empire destroyed last time the Wraith awoke, they would still own other worlds. That would explain the sheer number of individuals Samas could smell. 

Samas had not walked more than a quarter mile before he could smell coming guards, and a few minutes after that, he was surrounded as he walked toward town. Still, the guards were well back and few humans would have spotted them. At the edge of town, Kolya stepped out of a house, and the second Samas caught his scent, he knew he had been right about one thing. Kolya had been on Dagas. Samas had thought he could smell someone from the attack on the city, but after the Degans had learned that Sheppard was an Ancestor, the people had crowded around, making it difficult for Samas to be sure.

“Well, this is interesting.” Kolya looked amused, but Samas could taste the unease that tainted his scent. “What do you want here Lantean?”

“To speak to someone. I have seen images of you. You are Kolya.”

“And you are…”

“A Lantean, although not one like the others,” Samas said. “You failed in your attack.”

Kolya raised his eyebrows, but he didn’t speak. The scent of unease intensified.

“You then came to Dagas, but you failed to stop us or capture the ZPM.”

Kolya laughed, but it was clearly a gesture intended to deceive others rather than a genuine emotional response. “That’s quite an assumption. The Genii do have things to do other than chase you around the galaxy.” Gibbs suggested that perhaps Kolya did not have authorization for that mission because he was trying too hard to deny involvement.

“Yes, you are busy,” Samas agreed. “From the skill of the unit you have surrounding me, I would guess that you have stealth teams, perhaps the remains of the army that once defended your empire.” 

Kolya didn’t even twitch.

“I am a Lantean, but I am not human, and you should not mistake me for one.” At that, Samas could hear a number of people shift into new positions. Gibbs started to mentally calculate escape routes and nearby cover in case a firefight broke out. The odds were not in their favor—or not in Gibbs’ favor, anyway. Without understanding Samas, the Genii had no defense against him, and Samas would not hesitate to kill or take over an enemy. However, to do so would be to leave Gibbs’ at the mercy of the Genii and Samas would not do that.

“If your man Lanko takes the shot he is considering, you will learn what makes me something other than human,” Samas warned. “I have gone to war against creatures far more powerful than you and survived. True, thousands of my people did not, but in war, one must make choices.” Samas then watched Kolya’s face. The soldiers around them whispered their confusion, and Samas tracked their conversations without attempting to take cover or pull a weapon. People feared the unknown, and they were starting to believe that Samas was an unknown.

“You look rather human,” Kolya pointed out.

“But I know you have nine soldiers covering me right now. Four are female with five male. One of the females is pregnant. The one called Lanko has three times asked for permission to take the shot because he believes he can hit my head. And because I am not human, he would fail to make that shot. I came here alone so we could speak of things that the other Lanteans would find difficult, but you have failed. You do not enjoy the favor you once had.” Samas could immediately smell the shift in Kolya’s body chemistry that confirmed that fact. “I would speak to another.”

“Then speak to me.” A man with the softness of one who did not fight stepped out of the house. 

“Chief Cowen, this is a dangerous situation,” Kolya said.

“It looks to me like it’s one man.” Cowen walked closer. “One poorly armed man.”

Samas smiled. “Poorly armed, but not entirely a man. There are beings out there other than humans and Wraith.”

“I prefer to kill that which poses a threat to my world, so if you’re a threat, it would seem wise to destroy you.”

“No, it would not,” Samas said. “First, you do not know how to destroy me. Second, you have not yet heard my offer.”

Cowen pulled his gun and fired before anyone could even react, but Samas had expected it. He had already slowed the blood flow and increased coagulants, so when the bullet went through Gibbs’ leg, the wound began to heal almost immediately.

“That is going to scar. This body is damaged enough without your attempts to disprove a statement which is true. I am not human.” Samas watched as the Genii grew more and more uneasy. The wound did not bleed, and Samas did not fall down in pain. They were starting to believe.

Cowen put his weapon back in his holster. “Why are you here alone?”

“Because I find that test of my statement reasonable. The humans would take great exception to you shooting me.”

“Maybe they should,” Cowen answered. He walked past Kolya without a glance, and Samas could smell the aggression. Gibbs suggested that if Kolya had not yet tried to overthrow Cowen, he would soon. Atlantis could not take a position on the leadership of the Genii, although Sheppard would likely cut off his own leg before honoring a truce with Kolya. Humans did hold grudges. “How are you going to explain that you were shot?”

Samas smiled. “I am not. The wound will be no more than a scar within a day or two, and as long as I can replace the pants and prevent my lover from looking too closely, there will be no reason to tell them. However, were Sheppard to ask, I would tell him that I choose not to tell him the answer to that question.”

“And he’d take that for an answer?” Cowen didn’t hide his disbelief.

“He accepted that answer when I told him I wanted to walk through the ring of the Ancestors and I did not tell him where I wanted to go.” Samas waited. Cowen was clearly weighing the various options, but there was no question as to the outcome. He would want to hear why Samas had come. 

“Fine, speak your mind, Lantean.”

Samas nodded. “The Lantean homeworld would have Atlantis for their own. After all, they are the ones descended from the Ancients.”

Kolya started to interrupt, but Cowen held up a hand to stop him. 

“The Lanteans who are here begin to think of this place as home and the people of this galaxy as their true source of power, and protection against the politics of Earth. They have begun to integrate the great city—Degans as translators of the Ancient texts, Hoff as city workers and tradesmen, Athosians as farmers and weavers within the city itself, as well as others.”

Cowen narrowed his eyes. “And we are supposed to be intimidated by this new alliance of yours?”

Samas was startled by such an assumption, and Gibbs made fun of him for not seeing that interpretation. After all, if it were left up to Weir and Sheppard, the Genii would never be allowed near the city again.

“No, you are supposed to find a way to claim your rights to the Ancestral city,” Samas said.

“Really? And how should we do that?” Cowen crossed his arms and projected anger. “Should we attempt take it by force?” Cowen scowled as he glanced over toward Kolya. “Perhaps we should hold you hostage or beg. You would like to see us beg for our rights, wouldn’t you?”

“I despise begging. Such weakness leaves me fighting a desire to kill the one who would make himself that pathetic,” Samas said honestly. “However, if you go to where the Lanteans are, send a small group of scientists with a legitimate need for the superior labs on Atlantis, I cannot see where they can refuse you. If the city is a shared resource, then all must share it.”

“And they’ll believe that?”

Samas spent a few seconds reviewing information with Gibbs before he gave his answer. “Weir will want a diplomatic solution. If you had a small team—three or four scientists—she would feel ethically obligated to consider the request.”

“And Sheppard?”

“Will be advised that it is best to keep an enemy close, and that if he wants Atlantis to be safe, the Lanteans need resources and allies, and the Genii bring strength to the table.”

“Huh. And you think I’m going to let you walk away after delivering that message?” Cowen projected aggression, but Samas could already smell the hope.

“If you intend to betray Atlantis, you would let me go in order to get your people into the city. If you believe this offer is genuine, you will let me go so that I can ease the way for an alliance. You see that I am the one who would speak for the Genii.”

“And why is that?”

Samas smiled. “Because you have done nothing that I would not do in order to protect my people. I have watched thousands die. I have seen my people slaughtered, driven to the brink of extinction and robbed of their heritage. The humans do not understand what it is to be hunted, but I do. We do,” Samas added after a little prompting from Gibbs.

“What are you?” Cowen asked.

“If we can learn to trust each other, perhaps one day you will know. However, for right now, I will say that your nuclear program is unshielded and it poses a serious risk to your scientists. However, Atlantis has labs that can shield them, and McKay will scream at anyone who does not take the proper safety measures. Ask them for help with that project.”

“And if a bomb is created in the city, who does it belong to?”

“To the Genii,” Samas said, “but make sure the humans of Atlantis understand that. And be prepared to contribute something else to the city. And one last thing, Chief Cowen,” Samas said. He stretched Gibbs’ neck and avoided the urge to shake his fins at Cowen. He was crammed too tightly inside Gibbs to even attempt that. Gibbs enthusiastically agreed with that. “I am not human, but these are my people. If you act against them, I will not show the mercy the Lanteans have. I will not allow an attacker to retreat through the chappa’ai. I will come here and I will destroy the ring. I will go to every planet where I can smell your machines, and I will destroy their rings. I will hunt you down using a ship, and I will press on your eye until it bursts.” Samas mimed grinding his thumb into something, although he would take a far more teeth on approach if it were necessary.

“I will drive in until I feel the soft of your brain parting for me. I will hear you scream and I will enjoy it. Crossing the Lanteans is one thing. Crossing me is an endeavor which few have survived. In one case, it took me four thousand years, but I got to stand on homeworld victorious while my enemy was dead.” 

No, Samas did not get to kill Ra, but he had undone the damage Ra had done. Ra’s dream of having a male dominated universe with himself at the helm had ended, and Samas was the queen to lead her people to a new age, or at least the queens she’d left behind in Tony’s care would be. Tony, O’Neill, Daniel, Carter, Yu, Kali, and a half dozen others all had queens who carried their memories and personalities. They would take the onac into the future.

“I’m not sure whether or not to believe you,” Cowen said. 

“Ask the Lanteans once you have learned to speak to each other without rancor. Many wish I were not here at all because they fear me. I was only sent because those on Earth were too weak of purpose to destroy me and too frightened to allow me to live. I am someone to fear, and I align myself with Atlantis for my own purposes. Do not mistake me for one whose weakness you can exploit. And while you’re at it, you might ask the Dagans about Colonel Sheppard. You may learn one or two interesting facts. The city will be shared, but it will never be taken from the Lanteans, and I am not the only one who will ensure that.”

Samas turned and started walking back toward the chappa’ai. Darkness had fallen, but that would benefit him. In the dim light of an imperfect moon, Samas could clearly see, but the humans would be mostly blind. Behind him, Cowen ordered the soldiers to stand down, and Kolya and Cowen had started to argue.

That conflict would soon erupt. Samas did not know enough of either man to guess the outcome. If they were all onac, Kolya’s strength and ruthlessness would win the day, but as Gibbs pointed out, humans were not onac.

The trip to the chappa’ai was quiet, and Samas dialed the Hoff world. He still had hours to spare. He stepped through, and blinked at the sunlight that threatened to blind him. The two Marines still stood guard, but now Sheppard leaned against the DHD. Samas stepped down to the street level, and Sheppard immediately looked at Samas’ leg.

“You need medical attention?”

Samas slid back to focus on the healing and allowed Gibbs to take over the conversation. “No, sir. I’m fine.”

“Really? It looks like you’re shot.” Gibbs could hear the Marines stir behind him. He was their gunnery sergeant, and they did not like the idea that he had walked into a dangerous situation without them for backup. Gibbs could tell all that even without Samas’ ability to smell human emotion.

“Yes, sir. Someone doubted Samas’ word when he claimed he was not human. Someone was proven wrong.”

“Right. Okay, so you were visiting people who consider shooting you a responsible way to test for a lie.”

“Sir, Samas and I both consider a leg wound a reasonable reaction.”

“Yes, but you’re a Marine. Marines think bullet wounds tickle.”

The two Marines behind Gibbs gave a quick “Hoo-rah,” prompting Sheppard to roll his eyes.

“You’re a bad influence on my Marines, Gibbs.”

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs agreed happily. He enjoyed training them, more than he would have expected. These were the best men he’d ever served with, and he liked giving them tools that could keep them alive in the field.

“Walk with me,” Sheppard said before he turned and headed back to the building where McKay was interviewing Hoff. Gibbs fell in beside him, and they strolled through the mostly empty streets. Hoff already felt like it was dying by inches, even without the Wraith showing up. “So, what has Samas been up to?”

“Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Hell, Gibbs, you can always assume that. If I turn into one of those asshole officers who doesn’t want to hear other opinions, you have my permission to shoot me in the ass. Hell, I’m ordering you to shoot me if that happens.”

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs said.

“You don’t have to agree quite so quickly, or sound so enthusiastic,” Sheppard complained.

“No, sir. However, if I can give a little advice, keep your friends close and your enemies much closer. What’s done in the shadows is far more dangerous that what is done in the open.”

“The Genii, huh?”

Gibbs nodded. “Yes, sir. They have a lot more power than they’ve showed us. But we have technology they need.”

“I’m not going to go to the Genii homeworld and play nice, gunny.”

“No, sir. Samas suggested that this was a good time for them to play nice. He said that with you inviting others into the city, this was their chance to prove they could play nice and help bolster the Atlantis leadership against any political moves from Earth.”

Sheppard stopped and sat on a halfwall in front of a closed bakery. He wearily rubbed his face. “Gunny, talking about Earth like that skirts the issue of treason.”

“I wouldn’t ever turn against my country, but the IOC is full of politicians, sir. They will do something stupid eventually.”

“And we’re soldiers. We follow orders.”

Gibbs sat next to Sheppard. “Yes,” he agreed, “we do. That’s why we make sure we have other voices in there. People were always surprised that Tony went into NCIS. He had no military background, and the military culture is difficult to navigate if you haven’t been on the inside, but he is the best agent I ever worked with. He never did follow orders, so when some general tries to get him to back away from an investigation, Tony just digs his teeth in deeper.”

“I suspect you did the same, gunny.”

Gibbs nodded. “I did, but I always felt that twinge of discomfort at making a superior officer miserable. Luckily, misery makes me cranky and stubborn.”

Sheppard laughed.

“We’re going to the Hoff because they are technologically developed beyond agrarian technology and because we know they’re dedicated to eliminating the Wraith.”

“And the Genii are the same,” Sheppard finished. “The difference is that the Hoff never tried to take Atlantis by force.” Sheppard’s voice had a bit of growl to it now.

“No, but the Genii took it because they saw no other option if they wanted access. And they knew when we were vulnerable.”

“So they have a spy network. You’ve mentioned that before.”

“Yes, sir.”

Sheppard sat up and looked across at the empty buildings. “What will they do?”

“Probably send a request to use scientific labs. They’ll agree to McKay’s supervision. At that point, I suspect they will attempt to try and turn me, believing that I would side with them because I am more ruthless than the rest of you from Earth.”

“So, they’ll try to play it cool.”

“For a while. There’s leadership trouble brewing with Kolya and Cowen.”

“Which complicates issues, but it could also keep them from acting against us.”

“And if they have scientists on the city, they’ll concentrate any efforts there, leaving our gate teams alone.”

“And you’ve been worried about how wide their spy network went.” Sheppard nodded. “I see the logic, I just really don’t like that you did this without permission from either Weir or me.”

Gibbs shrugged. “Samas is used to being at the top of the food chain. He and Ra tried to kill each other over that very issue, so you’re unlikely to convince him to change.”

“Are the Genii going to mention that this is your brainchild? I can’t see Weir appreciating that.”

Gibbs laughed. “No. Samas told them that he wasn’t going to reveal where he’d gone. He figured you were bright enough that he wouldn’t have to tell you.”

“You’re a devious son-of-a-bitch, gunny.”

“You have no idea, sir.”

Sheppard nodded. “I want them watched, every hour of every day. I want daily reports on how well they’re behaving, and every speck of dust they bring on my city will be inspected.”

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs agreed. “Also make sure they socialize with the others, encourage them to form relationships, and integrate them into the daily life of Atlantis enough that if the Genii ask them to betray us, they think twice.”

“This is a horrible idea,” Sheppard said softly.

“Except that every other idea involved the Genii is worse, and that includes ignoring them.”

Sheppard didn’t answer, but with a sigh he got up and started back toward the interview room. He hadn’t reprimanded Gibbs or threatened to tell Tony and Rodney, which would have been the more serious punishment, so Gibbs figured that the man agreed with their logic. 

Hopefully Samas and Gibbs could help Atlantis become a real city, and then Samas would get to work on step two of his plan… giving them a population of onac that would live alongside them and be willing to die for them. That was a goal that was worthy of a queen’s full attention.


	7. Reestablishing contact with Earth

Rodney traded worried looks with Radek. They agreed on this, but that didn’t mean that Rodney’s stomach appreciated the stress. “We’re ready to dial Earth,” Rodney said.

Elizabeth beamed. This was a huge victory for her, and she looked around the room to the people who had crowded the central tower, pride on her face. “We’re calling home with news that we are a strong base capable of defending ourselves, and with intelligence on the threat that we have fought. We have done good work, people, and it is largely due to you and the sacrifices you have made for this city.” She turned to Rodney. “Dial Earth.”

“Dialing.” Rodney hit the symbols. The wormhole engaged, and Elizabeth smiled.

“Earth, this is Atlantis, dialing in to give you an update on our situation.”

“Dr. Weir?” a shocked voice answered. “Just… I’ll get General Landry. Tell him it’s Atlantis.”

“I assume that last part wasn’t for us,” Sheppard said as he stood next to Weir looking twice as proud.

Rodney pressed his lips together. He was doing this for Sheppard. Tony had pointed out that Sheppard was a pretty unlikely commanding officer, and after decades of work with the US military, Rodney had to agree. If they found out that John was in charge, the SGC was going to replace him the second they found a ZPM. Rodney just had to convince them that it wasn’t a good idea to send people through the wormhole.

“Dr. Weir, is that you?” The screen flickered, and then they had a video signal. True, the audio was a little out of sync, but then Radek’s fussing with the gate filters were probably to blame for that.

“General Landry, it’s good to see your face again.”

“We thought you were lost Dr. Weir. Where’s Colonel Sumner?”

Elizabeth case her eyes downward for a second in that expression of perfect sympathy that Rodney had never mastered, not even when he was feeling bad for someone. “I’m sorry, Hank. We lost Colonel Sumner very early in the mission. We’re forwarding the mission logs and some personal mail. We’ve found some significant enemies here, although luckily we haven’t run into any goa’uld.”

“Significant enemies?” General Landry leaned over and spoke to someone. The tech had clearly cut off the microphone because no sound came through. When he stood up again, the sound returned. “We have some good news. We found a ZPM, so once you disengage, we’re going to take a couple of hours to regroup, and then dial you back with reinforcements.”

Rodney’s stomach dropped. Reinforcement? That was military speak for ‘we’ll replace your clearly non-standard military commander.’ No, no, no. They’d searched years for one ZPM, and now Earth just magically found another one? If the Ancients were sticking their glowy little noses into Atlantis business, Rodney was going to spend his life finding a way to blow them up. Damn interfering glowing squid. If they wanted to stick their noses into human business, they could damn well de-ascend and take their chances with a human body like all the other de-ascended Ancients.

“We’re having some trouble with the gate, and the extra distance might pose a problem when traveling between galaxies,” Rodney said. He focused on believing what he was saying. It was a stabilization error. Energy signals had minor fluctuations.

“What sort of fluctuations?” Colonel Carter asked, stepping into the screen. “Hi Rodney. Nice to see you aren’t dead.”

“Yes, yes, and it’s the sort of fluctuations you get with 10,000 year old equipment. We only got our ZPM a week ago, and it’s been sitting at the bottom of a dark cave for all that time, so excuse me if we’ve had a few errors come up.”

“What sort of errors?” Carter asked with that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth expression. Rodney hated her, which is why it was so much harder that he was seriously sexually attracted to her. She was the sort of genius that his parents would always point to. ‘So-and-so can be social. It has nothing to do with intelligence, you just don’t try hard enough, Rodney’ they’d tell him. Well fuck Carter and her good social skills and her habit of ignoring safety protocols. As far as he was concerned, she was nowhere near as smart as him, and maybe that’s why she could be polite to stupid people.

“The sort I don’t need your help to fix,” Rodney snapped. “You’d probably turn off half the safety protocols and then bat your eyes at someone and apologize when someone died in transit.”

Rodney noted with some satisfaction that Carter turned white. That’s right. She carried a lot of the blame for Teal’c’s near death, and Rodney wasn’t going to let her forget it. He pressed his lips together and crossed his arms.

“Whoa, hey there, buddy.” Sheppard’s hand rested on Rodney’s shoulder. “No one is going to get killed and I’m sure you can figure it out, just send Carter the readings so she can be as impressed with your brilliance as the rest of us are, okay?”

“Yes, yes, I send,” Radek said. “But organic matter, it should be tested.”

“Are you having trouble with local addresses?” Carter asked. She was all business now, no more trying to suck up to anyone. Good. Rodney still vibrated with frustration, but Sheppard’s hand stayed on his shoulder, and Rodney tried his best to keep his mouth shut. He was trying to make Sheppard look good here.

“Soldiers report some tingling,” Radek said. “Not bad, but traveling between galaxies is much longer. We should test, maybe we will not have trouble with incoming wormhole.”

Of course they were going to have trouble with the incoming worm hole. That was the whole point. Rodney felt a little flash of smug satisfaction at the idea that Carter would never catch what he and Radek had done. Their coding had improved too much. Between their creativity with computers and Samas’ speed and accuracy, they could perform miracles that she wouldn’t be able to understand any more than a monkey could understand Latin.

“Okay,” General Landry said. “Do you folks have any particular requests for what we send through?”

“Coffee!” several voiced called out. 

Landry laughed. “Coffee it is, what else?”

“P90 ammunition and more land to air rockets,” Sheppard said. These Wraith are hard bastards to take down, sir. We have a number of hive ships inbound, and while we have a shield, we may have to get creative to take these guys out. However, until the wormhole is stable, maybe you can avoid sending any nukes through.”

“Nukes? Is it that bad?”

Sheppard’s expression turned grim. “These are the bastards that drove the Ancients out of this galaxy.”

“We will read the reports and take it under advisement, Major Sheppard,” Landry said. “What else are you folks looking for?”

“Spices,” Weir said. Several people nodded. “Tava beans are almost palatable with chili peppers, but without Earth spices, it is not my favorite food.”

Rodney added. “Wiring. We need more wiring to connect ancient systems to our computer, and more computers. A lot more computers. Tablets or laptops.” Rodney had to equip all his new technicians.

“Copper,” Radek said. “Is most hard to find here. And chickens.”

“Excuse me?” General Landry asked.

Radek shrugged. “We need to test with actual living things. Eggs are a very good trade item, and more alpaca. The hairs is very useful, and cloth would be good with trading.”

Rodney turned his chair around and gave Radek and odd look. Since when did Radak care about alpaca and cloth?

“What? Selana mentions it often. We need animals to test anyway. I would rather have more goats and chicken and alpaca than mice.”

“We also have gardens that are isolated to prevent cross contamination, so I would like to start growing more earth staples,” Elizabeth said, “Yams, soybeans, potatoes, rice, wheat, corn. If we stop importing food, it will help us diplomatically. This is a tough neighborhood, General, and if others perceive us as being unable to take care of ourselves, it’s going to get tougher.”

“That is true,” Teyla offered. “And Dr. Zelenka’s suggestion for more alpaca is also reasonable. The exportation of such high quality cloth could do much to convince people that Atlantis is secure.”

“Cloth?” General Landry pasted a smile over his doubt and nodded. “Of course. If there’s nothing else, I’ll call everyone and let them know that you folks are okay and then we’ll review the reports.”

“Thank you, General Landry,” Elizabeth said.

“It’s good to see you folks alive and well. We were getting worried. Landry out.” 

Once the wormhole disconnected, Rodney felt like he could breathe again. They weren’t sending anyone through—not right away. He’d saved John’s job today, and now he just had to save it again tomorrow.


	8. Gibbs and Tony in bed

Tony stretched out. The cool ocean air drifted through the window, and the curtains that led to their balcony drifted in with the breeze. Gibbs came out of the bathroom followed by a cloud of steam. He stopped and eyed Tony. "Is that a new bed?"

So much for looking seductive. Tony rolled onto his side and pulled the sheet up. "I got tired of having two small mattresses pushed together. I always ended up with my ass on the hard platform when they separated."

Gibbs grunted, which Tony took as an invitation to continue.

"I got Spertia to take two mattresses and create one queen size. Next up, real sheets."

"What did you trade her?"

Tony grinned. "Some of the eggs might have vanished between the chicken runs and the kitchen. Spertia's son is going out on a trading mission tomorrow, and you know how those things go."

"We're running a black market based on eggs."

"Hey, it’s better than trying to track down a drug ring. We just have an egg ring.”

Gibbs pulled back the covers and slipped into bed. Tony reached out and ran his hand over Gibbs’ arm. It never stopped feeling special—this ability to lie close to Gibbs at night. Gibbs smiled at him before catching Tony’s wrist and tightening his fingers around it possessively. “How was your day?”

“Quiet. Some food was getting stolen out of the kitchens.”

“You mean other than the eggs you stole?”

Tony grinned. “Well, yeah. It turns out that one of the kids from the M7G-677 villages got worried because there’s no way for him to hunt here, so he was stockpiling food.”

“You get him straightened out?”

“Yeah. We talked about perishable food and non-perishable food, and then I helped him steal of box of MREs.”

Gibbs turned his head to the side and gave Tony one of his incredulous looks. Tony grinned. “Have I mentioned how much I love not having a supervisor? No director to justify myself to, no reports. Okay, so I have reports, but I put what I want in them because you are too busy to catch me doing it.”

“Maybe I should pay more attention to what you’re doing.” Gibbs rolled closer and ended up lying halfway on top of Tony, pinning him down. Immediately Tony’s cock started perking up.

“Feel free, boss.”

Gibbs captured Tony’s arm and held it over his head before leaning close for a soft kiss. This was all Gibbs. Gibbs liked slow and easy, and Tony loved to oblige. Actually, he loved to indulge in prey games too. He just loved making his lovers happy in any form. Gibbs kissed the side of Tony’s neck, just under the ear, and then caught Tony’s other hand and brought it up over his head. Tony hummed and arched his back in invitation.

When Gibbs started wrapping fabric around Tony’s wrists, Tony’s whole body relaxed into the touch even as his cock got harder. Yep, Gibbs had him trained in every sense of the word. Once Tony’s wrists were wrapped, Gibbs tied the rope around it, and Tony was not officially helpless.

“It’s a good thing we don’t have a maid or you’d have to explain why we have ropes hanging from the bedframe,” Tony joked. Gibbs ran his hand over Tony’s chest and started his slow exploration. Tony took deep breaths and tried to calm himself. If he tried to rush Gibbs, he’d end up with his feet tied and a gag in his mouth. Some days that was fun, but maybe not right now.

“How are things going in the tower?”

Gibbs rolled Tony’s nipple between a rough thumb and finger, and Tony groaned in need. “Earth has sent through a lot of supplies. Radek has narrowed the glitch down to the systems that check for infectious disease during reintegration. We’ve only lost two of the chickens and a half dozen test mice, but apparently Stargate Command feels that’s too high a risk to use the gate for personnel.”

“Huh. When are they going to fix the glitch?”

“Whenever they want to,” Gibbs said.

Yeah, Tony had figured that much. Rodney would be freaking out way more if the Stargate were truly broken. “So, for right now we are stuck with Sheppard as our military commander.”

“Since the SGC can’t get anyone else out here, it seems like it,” Gibbs agreed. “Sheppard has a full military meeting tomorrow to discuss crazy plans for blowing up hive ships.”

“I assume the scientists are going to be there.”

“Yep,” Gibbs said. He kissed his way down the center of Tony’s chest and stopped right above Tony’s belly button. Tony grunted as hard need rolled through him.

“Boss, please,” he begged.

“I love the sound of that.”

“Begging?”

“From you, yes,” Gibbs said. “I also like knowing I’m still the boss.”

“Always, boss.”

Gibbs rewarded him by skimming his hand over Tony's bare chest and dipping his fingers under the band of his pajama bottoms. Tony groaned and arched his back. "Of course, this is not going to last as long as Rodney had hoped. It turns out that Earth has a ship."

"A ship?" Tony was struggling to string thoughts together as Gibbs tormented him, one finger brushing agains the head of his cock.

"You know, one of those big metal things for carrying servicemen," Gibbs teased. There was nothing as hot as Gibbs teasing him. This was something personal--something for only Tony. Only Tony got hunted down by Samas, and only Tony got to see the gentle teasing side of Gibbs. When they'd been coworkers, Tony had fantasized about what it would mean to belong to Gibbs, but he hadn't come anywhere close to reality. On one hand, Gibbs was far more laid back than other men Tony had played dominance games with. On the other, Tony felt his ownership in every cell of his being. It was like Gibbs' assumption that Tony belonged to him defined reality. Tony couldn't possibly have an existence other than that of Gibbs' second and lover.

"Is your mind wandering?" Gibbs asked as he wrapped his calloused fingers around Tony's cock.

"Thinking about how much hotter you are in reality than you were in my fantasies back in DC," Tony admitted.

Gibbs chuckled, his breath tickling the little hairs along the side of Tony's neck. "My ex-wives would disagree."

Tony noted that Gibbs was excluding Shannon from that list of unappreciative ex-lovers. "I would disagree with them. So, Earth is sending a ship?" Tony needed the distraction because Gibbs had abandoned his grip on Tony's cock and he was running his fingers over Tony's flank. He was definitely planning on making this last, and that meant that Tony needed to focus on something other than his overheated and overstimulated body.

"They are. When they found out that our shields can hold for at least a hundred years, they decided that it may take a few months to prepare a response."

"So in other words, you're on your own?" Tony asked. Gibbs could talk all he wanted about the military sticking up for their own, after years in NCIS, Tony had his own opinion on the matter. O'Neill's willingness to essentially arrest Gibbs for trying to help Samas was just one more example of the monumental shittiness that military minds could conceive.

"If we were in danger, they'd scramble someone out here," Gibbs said, "but as it stands, I think they want to give Sheppard enough rope to hang himself."

Tony lost his train of thought when Gibbs nipped at his neck and then started gently sucking at the mark. Tony fought against the ropes that held him down, but there was no way to escape. He could only squirm and suffer at Gibbs slowly marked him. The worst part was, Gibbs hadn't even gotten around to taking off Tony's pajama bottoms, so he was definitely in a mood for slow torture. The second B for bastard was definitely in play.

"Weir is being too complimentary toward our major. The generals can't remove him without upsetting Weir and her political allies, but they can't leave him in charge."

"I thought Weir was pissed about how many people he brought back from Hoff." Tony struggled to keep his thoughts in order, but the fact was that most of the city had heard that fight. Sheppard had brought back all the technicians Rodney wanted, but apparently Rodney and Weir had not been on the same page regarding the number implied by the words 'absolutely necessary.' And when Weir had said family, she meant wives, husbands and children. Instead, Atlantis had inherited sixteen technical workers along with eighty three aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, grandparents and assorted in-laws. After the anti-Wraith drug they'd administered to themselves had killed half their population, the family members that remained wanted to stick together.

"No other military commander would have let her hire local technicians at all."

Tony grunted. Part of that was that Gibbs was now massaging Tony's shoulder, and part was the irony of that statement. Sheppard had brought the Athosians through the gate en masse, and it was Weir who had protested.

"You seem to have too many brain cells left to discuss politics," Gibbs observed.

"No, I'm trying to focus on anything other than the fact that you're driving me insane. I would demand that you fuck me hard, but we both know what happens when I make demands."

Gibbs chuckled and ran a finger over Tony's lips. Yeah, Gibbs remembered. And Tony did not mind his lips stretching around the thick cloth that stuffed his mouth. However, he wanted to be good for Gibbs, so he didn't comment. Gibbs rewarded him by bringing his knee up and resting it against Tony’s cock and leaning his weight against it.

Tony humped Gibbs’ leg. No, it wasn’t dignified, but dignity be damned if he got some sex.

“What do you want Tony?” Tony opened his mouth, but Gibbs interrupted him before he could even begin. “What do you really want tonight, Tony. Your call, and I won’t do this often, so think carefully.” Gibbs kissed Tony’s collarbone, his leg still pinning Tony down in all the best ways.

Tony’s brain, meanwhile, was completely whiting out. Anything. Gibbs was offering him anything. Tony was suddenly inundated with memories of the various things he’d tried—some athletic enough that it would take someone with an onac to really pull it off well. Tony had been hard on some of the dominants he’s played with. But then it had been play. Vowing to work his way through the Gay Kama Sutra had been a challenge no different from trying to beat everyone else’s Guitar Hero score or getting top spot with movie trivia.

Tony pulled against the rope until his arm muscles were tight with strain and he looked up at Gibbs. There was no expectation there. This wasn’t a game that Gibbs was playing, and there was no wrong answer, but there was still only one answer Tony could give.

“I want to make you happy, boss. Whatever you want.”

Gibbs smiled. It wasn’t a big smile or one of those rare moments when he was caught off guard and he laughed. No, this was a small, private smile—a moment between them. Gibbs cupped Tony’s cheek in his palm and leaned closer to brush his lips against Tony’s. “You are a treasure, Tony.”

Tony bit his tongue and tried to avoid saying anything particularly stupid or goofy that would break the spell. 

Gibbs kissed him again, and this time he was demanding and aggressive, far more than usual for Gibbs. Tony’s cock was so hard that it had started to ache, but that hot need faded to the background as Gibbs caught him by the back of the neck and kissed him until Tony was lightheaded from lack of air. By the time Gibbs leaned back, Tony felt kiss-stupid and weightless.

Gibbs encouraged him to roll onto his stomach with gentle hands at his hips. Work roughened hands ran down Tony’s back, and then Gibbs was sliding Tony’s pajama bottoms down.

“Gibbs,” Tony said, his voice weak and breathy. With his cock trapped under his body, he had good cause. Gibbs rested a hot hand against the small of Tony’s back and then he kissed the back of Tony’s neck, his breath stirring the small hairs. Tony pressed his face into the pillow and groaned. Gibbs started massaging Tony’s back, his strong fingers finding all the worry knots and stress under his skin and smoothing it away.

Tony was caught between the relaxing feel of Gibbs’ soothing hands and the ever greater tension and sexual frustration that ruled his cock. Tony opened his legs in invitation, and Gibbs shifted so that he was kneeling between Tony’s thighs. Gibbs continued with his ministrations, adding in small kisses and the dull scrape of his teeth over Tony’s shoulder, making Tony shiver.

Then the bed dipped and Gibbs was gone, taking his heat and strong hands away with him. Tony groaned.

“I’m getting oil. I don’t want you hurt, Tony.”

“You wouldn’t hurt me, boss.”

“I think I hurt you too often without realizing it,” Gibbs disagreed. “I never did think you were mine. I kept telling Samas that he was confusing us—expecting that you would be as loyal as an onac simply because he recognized some of your behaviors. But he was right the whole time, wasn’t he? From the time you took the job on my team, you were mine.”

“I was yours the moment you trusted me to make my own decision about whether or not to turn in my dirty partner, boss. You had faith in me.”

“And I never once doubted you, Tony. I was just afraid of asking too much from you.”

Tony snorted. That was as close as he could come to calling Gibbs dumb. Tony recognized the sound of Gibbs rubbing his hands together, and then slicked palms rubbed him on both asscheeks. Tony pressed his forehead deep into the pillow and struggled up onto his knees. With his hands tied, it wasn’t easy, but he was encouraged by Gibbs’ gentle petting. 

When Tony finally settled on his knees, his ass thrust awkwardly into the air, Gibbs slipped rubbed his slippery fingers over Tony’s hole. Cool oil dripped onto his crack and ran down over Tony’s hole and then Gibbs rubbed the escaping dropped into Tony’s perineum. Finally, Gibbs slipped a finger inside. Gibbs slid a second finger in before he pressed in deep enough to hit Tony’s prostate.

“Gibbs. Boss. Aw shit.” After that, Tony was out of words. 

“I’m getting there, Tony,” Gibbs whispered, his words a promise. And Gibbs always kept his promises. Gibbs shifted around on the bed behind Tony and then he was pressing against Tony’s ass. Tony felt the burn as he muscles stretched. Two fingers hadn’t been enough to save him from the worst of the pressure, and Tony loved it. He loved the feel of Gibbs forcing his way in.

He fisted his hands around the headboard and pressed back slightly. Both Gibbs hands were on his hips down, fingertips brusing Tony’s flesh. Tony wanted to impale himself on Gibbs cock, to ride Gibbs hard. But more than that, he wanted to give himself to Gibbs, so he panted through the frustration as he let Gibbs settle forward until finally, Gibbs pressed up against the back of Tony’s thighs. Too soon, Gibbs started to pull back, and Tony made an undignified whine that he would never admit to in his saner moments. However, Gibbs thrust back in before Tony could get too unhappy. 

Gibbs started with small, slow thrusts that left Tony aching for more. With each thrust, Gibbs would run his hands up Tony’s back or over his ass. It was as if Gibbs were touch-starved, and Tony was a feast. Tony understood. He knew what it was to want someone’s touch, someone’s warmth. The fact that he could feed Gibbs’ need made him feel whole in a way that no other relationship had. 

For a long time, Gibbs continued with his slow, deliberate thrusts, and Tony rocked forward and back with the rhythm of Gibbs’ body. Eventually Gibbs let his hands trail down to Tony’s thighs, and then he braced one hand on Tony’s back and reached around to grab Tony’s cock.

Tony lost all control. Yes, Gibbs wanted slow and easy, but Tony was ready to explode out of his skin. He thrust forward and then jerked back the two whole inches the rope allowed him. Their sex degenerated into hard lunges where their bodies slapped together and heavy breathing. Tony started cursing softly, struggling to drive himself back onto Gibbs cock, and at the same time desperate to thrust forward into his hand. Tony’s body turned into a mass of uncoordinated twitches until Gibbs took control. He tightened his hand around Tony’s cock to still him and then started fucking him hard and fast.

Tony cried out as he came, and he could feel Gibbs jerk behind him, his own orgasm coming a second later. With his whole body caught in the tension and fire of orgasm, Tony cried out, and then as the fire of need slowly started to fade, he collapsed onto the wet spot, his face back in the pillow, and his fingers opening and closing around the rope that anchored him to the bed.

Gibbs lay on top, his half-hard cock slowly starting to slip free, and Tony shivered as the air was suddenly cool against his sweaty back. Gibbs chuckled and pulled a sheet over them both. “I keep waiting for you to decide I’m too damn selfish,” Gibbs said quietly.

“Too bad I’m never going to think that, then. I guess that disproves the theory that your gut is always right.”

Gibbs wrapped and arm around Tony’s waist and pulled him close. Tony was starting to slide into sleep when Gibbs finally undid the ropes around his wrists. Tony brought rolled to one side and ran his hands up and down Gibbs’ arm as he thought ‘off’ at the lights. Atlantis complied by turning them all off so that only the winking city lights coming in through the blowing curtains disturbed the darkness.


	9. Elizabeth's musings

Elizabeth watched through the open door of her office as Major Sheppard leaned against the DHD and either talked to, or more likely, harassed Dr. Zelenka. As she sipped her tea, she studied the enigma that was her military commander.

She had chosen Colonel Sumner from a list provided by General O'Neill because the man had experience working with civilian leadership during nation building efforts that rose out of the rubble of Bosnia and Serbia. He was a known quantity, and between his lack of interest in politics and his reverence for chain of command, he was controllable. She had proved that when she had convinced Sumner to bring John Sheppard along as his second.

When he had first died, Elizabeth had thought John would be equally easy to control, if not more so. She ordered him to stand down until he had a better rescue plan, and he did. During those first weeks, he had desperately wanted to protect Teyla from the investigation into their possible traitor, and yet he'd allowed Gibbs and DiNozzo to question her. True, he'd paced outside the space DiNozzo had claimed for his NCIS offices, but he hadn't interfered.

But then again, he had not only disobeyed her order during the nanovirus outbreak, but he'd ordered Bates to disregard her, and he had. That stung.

Elizabeth had assumed that John had learned his lesson and would be more amendable to her leadership after his decision had turned out to be wrong, but now she wondered if he didn't have political games of his own. He had brought up the idea of hiring Pegasus natives to use as technicians, an idea she had originally put forward only to have John and Bates insist that the security risks were too great. At the time, she hadn't even pressed her position because she feared they were right. A good leader knew when to listen to others--and when others had better training in recognizing security risks, a leader who ignored them could end up dead.

However, John had resurrected the idea, and then he hadn't come home with three or four technicians along with their immediate families. No. He'd brought home a huge Hoff delegation with the power to shift the internal politics of the city.

She couldn't decide if he was playing a political game, attempting to wrest power from her and the IOC, or if he was simply that clueless about the political games people played. At first, she'd been furious, certain that he had played her. However, he then ignored all those potential supporters, leaving Rodney to train the workers and a host of others to integrate the families. Atlantis now had a school with three instructional levels, and multiple hydroponic farms running. The military contingent did not have time to run the labor-intensive equipment, but the civilians wanted jobs where they could contribute to their adopted city. If those jobs happened to be dirty and require a lot of work, they didn't even mind.

The first time Elizabeth had seen a child running around the mess hall telling everyone about a music performance that night, Elizabeth had realized that they had their first town crier, and Atlantis had reached the status of a town.

The IOC would not be pleased. Honestly, Elizabeth had no idea whether the military would be pleased or not. On the one hand, the city had a much better infrastructure to support the Earth-based military. On the other, O'Neill was a good deal more observant than many military men, and he would likely recognize the competing power bases that were developing on the city. The fact that the Genii had now asked for access to a single lab for their atomic experiments threatened to destabilize the power structures even more.

And that brought her back to her original subject. She sipped her tea and watched as John grew bored and wandered over to give Grodin a hard time. Now she knew he was harassing the man just because of Grodin's body language. The man had been raised in a very proper home, and he didn't quite seem to know how to handle Sheppard's leadership style. How much of their recent changes were simple quirks of luck and a capricious universe and how many of these sudden changes could be attributed to some political machinations of John Sheppard?

She'd heard the Athosians and Dagans whisper about John's potential as a de-ascended ancestor. Elizabeth had even brought it up with John, prodding around the subject gently in order to test whether John was trying to set himself up as a false god. He would not be the first SGC employee to do so.

However his reaction had been embarrassment and a quick change of subject. More tellingly, he avoided the Dagans with an almost religious ferver. Considering they sought him out with the same passion, it made for an amusing dance carried out through the corridors of Atlantis. Elizabeth refused to believe that John could deceive her so well that he could appear utterly innocent while he was plotting to take over political leadership of the city.

She sipped her tea and closed her eyes as she tried to imagine the powerlines and threads of alliance that ran through the city. Rodney certainly lay near most of the levers of power. The Hoff were enamored of the irascible man. Even the close approach of the Wraith ships failed to cause any alarm because they had a near messianic worship of him. In twenty-four hours, they would be officially under siege, and other than an afternoon meeting that John had irreverently labeled "Creative Approaches for Kicking Wraith Ass in Science Fiction Style" in the official calendar, a person could never tell that this was a city about to be under attack. A big part of that was the Hoff children still playing on terraces and women gossiping in halls, completely unconcerned. That was a direct result of their faith in Rodney.

Certainly the Hoff still held Dr. Beckett in high regard for his skills as a geneticist, but Carson had distanced himself from the Hoff, and they felt that censure. Rodney, on the other hand, apparently adored them in his cranky and generally unappreciative way. They did the work he didn't have time for, and they never tried to argue with him.

Still, Elizabeth had trouble believing that the shifting power was Rodney's work. He was amusingly unaware of how others saw him. While it was true that most people commented on Rodney's lack of social skills or inability to recognize when people were upset with him, it was equally true that he failed to take note of those who seemed to adore him or even flirt.

Take one John Sheppard, for example. Rodney never seemed to notice the sexual undertones of many of the jokes he shared with John, but then Elizabeth wasn't sure if John was honestly flirting or simply enjoying the ability to flirt shamelessly without ever getting caught. Teyla certainly found their antics amusing.

Teyla was another that Elizabeth sometimes wondered about. However, her strongest power base were the Athosians, and they had only one extended Athosian family on Atlantis--a family of cloth makers and tailors whose extended family members ran a hydroponic garden. If Teyla wanted to strengthen her hand, she would bring Athosians here, not Hoff. Besides, the woman was a clever enough leader to understand how her absence strengthened Holling's position, so Elizabeth suspected that Teyla had some good reason for leaving the reins of power with another.

Gibbs and Samas could be dismissed almost as easily. Certainly the goa'uld played their power games with the best, but Elizabeth had seen Samas separate and swim away, and Gibbs was not the sort of man to condone treason. If Samas were plotting, then Gibbs would have said something, and anything short of a full coup that led to expedition members worshipping Samas as their God would fail to satisfy a goa'uld, so Elizabeth was inclined to believe the assessments of O'Neill and Jackson who said that the igigi were different.

Moreover, any attempt on the part of Samas or Gibbs to grab for power would be met with great hostility from the SGC soldiers who lost friends and team members to the goa'uld. They would never follow Samas over her, although Samas and Gibbs had made great strides in being accepted. DiNozzo had helped that.

Elizabeth dismissed DiNozzo even more quickly than she dismissed Samas. Gibbs had the covert training to take action. Samas might have the instinct even if he didn't have the opportunity, but DiNozzo was the ultimate team player. He never played a sport that didn't rely on working with a team. Every job he had put him with a partner or in a unit. He followed Gibbs with a devotion that had made Kate raise her eyebrows and use words like codependent.

Elizabeth could understand DiNozzo, though. He was no danger, and if he felt threatened, he would be a blunt object swinging in the dark. On a base like Atlantis, DiNozzo was no threat. However, he did have friends. A lot of them.

Like Radek Zelenka. Perhaps he was the hand behind these recent shifts in power. She had spent a lot of time pondering whether to have Rodney or Radek as her chief scientist. In many ways, Radek was the more logical choice. He had more patience with others. He was more conscientious with his reports. People liked him, and a science division under Radek would operate more smoothly.

However, he would achieve that by making small sacrifices and concessions. Projects that were clearly stupid would not be openly called stupid and mocked into a full retreat. And Radek had the sort of political maneuverability that made Elizabeth hyperaware of his actions. She suspected that he had cornered the black market early. Others might have missed the importance of trade items, but she suspected that Zelenka had started hoarding early, and she knew he controlled the bootleg vodka that could be found anywhere a group got together.

Three times she had asked DiNozzo to address the black market alcohol, and three times he had tracked the still down. However, each time the still and the room where it had been set up were suspiciously clean of any evidence--no fingerprints or hairs or slightest trace of their distiller. Elizabeth had gotten the message. Radek was part of DiNozzo's team, and so Tony would follow orders, but he would never truly turn on a team mate. DiNozzo was blunt.

Radek was not. Radek was the good cop to Rodney's bad cop in the labs. She had not anticipated that they would fall into such an easy co-parenting relationship. With his history of surviving overwhelming hardship, Radak had the motivation to grab power. Those denied power often sought it in order to make their own position more secure. And with alcohol, she had no doubt that he either controlled or was a major player in the other black market currencies: eggs, chocolate and coffee. Others might discount such power, but Elizabeth had seen leaders rise on far less.

His relationship with an Athosian woman also gave him ties to that community that were far stronger than most of the expedition's.

Elizabeth suddenly found her tea cup empty. The Genii request for use of a lab still sat on her laptop, and she had still not made any decision.

Refusing it could set up an adversarial position from which the two groups could not recover. Elizabeth was diplomat enough to recognize that the Genii had a legitimate claim to the city, even if she was passionate enough that she would do anything to keep them from taking it. If she accepted a science team, she might be playing into the hand of whoever had orchestrated these events. The Dagans, the Hoff, several young people from the planet where they had once killed themselves at twenty-five, and now Genii. Atlantis was in danger of looking more like the United Nations than a scientific expedition.

And that was the problem.

If the IOC even suspected that the power was shifting, they would move in with every political weapon in their arsenal armed and ready. They were a force to be reckoned with.

If the military sent someone like Colonel Caldwell who was more political savvy than the late Sumner, he was likely to try and take power before the IOC or Pegasus natives could establish a firm hold.

The power lines were becoming dangerously crossed, and not even Elizabeth could predict what might happen. She only knew that there were far too many serious power players in a very small space. One wrong move and Atlantis was going to implode without any help from the Wraith, and she refused to let that happen.

If someone was stirring the waters from underneath, she simply had to keep the boat afloat until she could figure out where the power lines lay. She was good at that. More, she was not going to be the leader who sank Atlantis for the last time. If someone wanted to play games, she was the master of gamesmanship. She would win.


	10. That first awkward McShep kiss

Rodney stood watching the monitor, the computer tracking the Wraith John was piloting, even in the swarm of other darts that were returning to the hive ship. After what Tony unfortunately described as the Death Star maneuver, the Wraith had started to keep their dart bay doors closed unless they had incoming darts. Having a cloaked jumper shoot lasers through the open door right before lobbing a Genii nuclear bomb through the opening tended to make the Wraith a little paranoid.

The swarm got closer to the last remaining hive, and Rodney held his breath. Off to the side, Radek was softly mumbling in Czech. Tony didn't have a single idiotic comment, and stress normally made him more inane than usual, although Rodney suspected that John was right that Tony did it more to lighten the mood and help other than out of any need to look stupid.

Grodin spoke up. "Maneuvers should begin in five, four, three, two, one..."

Clutching the side of the console, Rodney watched the screen, watched as John's dart pulled away from the others in painful slow motion. Hopefully he had beamed his bomb right into the open dart bay doors.

Ladon Radim then started his own countdown. "It will go off in three... two... one."

The sensors all went blank as the nuclear weapon detonated. Rodney started praying. Well, if one could call it prayer when he sent the words up to some spirit of physics that made the universe logical. "Let the shield hold, let the shield hold, let the shield hold," Rodney muttered. It occurred to him that perhaps that is what Radek had been saying earlier.

One at a time, sensors started coming back online. At first, they only had the crudest of readings. Hive two had died slowly, the Genii bomb doing massive internal damage, but the hive itself staying together long enough for ships to pass between the two remaining hives. Survivors. This time, the goal was no survivors. Except John.

"We have confirmation. It's totally destroyed!" Ladon shouted. "We killed the hive."

"Well of course we destroyed the hive. That's the whole point of adding naquadah to a nuclear bomb," Rodney snapped. "Do we have a reading on John's dart? The other darts should be either destroyed or disabled by the nuclear fallout, but the modified shield should have protected John. Should. Never had so much of Rodney's life hung on a single word: should.

"The shield will hold," Samas said calmly. Right. He could be calm. He'd already lost like a couple of thousand friends. Rodney had three. Three. And one third of his entire friend group had just flown a nuclear weapon down the throat of the Wraith.

"I'm sure the major will be fine," Ladon said, which might have been kind only he immediately asked, "Do we have the readings on the size of the blast? Is anything coming in from sensors over there?"

"Yes, yes," Radek said, his voice distant as he searched the scanners for something more important that the calculations on the payload capacity of a naquadah enhanced Genii bomb. “There. One dart, returning on a course to take him straight to the hole in the shield.”

Rodney didn’t wait for anything else. He started running for the transporter.

“Rodney, wait, we don’t know if it’s him,” Elizabeth called after him, but Rodney didn’t even slow down. Only one person knew where he and Radek had left that shield opening, and that was one wild-haired major with a death wish and more luck than a fucking leprechaun. 

No one else reached the transporter before Rodney, and he came out in a well-guarded corridor. Some Marine tried to talk to him. “Sir, do you need—”

“No, no, no,” Rodney snapped as he kept running. He turned the corner and found himself in the large open air landing bay where they stored the various dart pieces they’d gathered during their month-long siege. Dart pieces were scattered across the floor, and six mostly in-tact machines sat near the back. But Rodney only paid attention to the one dart that was powering down near the open doors.

The canopy opened, and John practically leaped out of the pilot’s seat.

“Rodney, did you see it? Did you see the whole ship go up?” John ran to Rodney and threw his arms around him. Rodney hugged back, too surprised and overjoyed and frankly drunk on relief to make objections about personal space. Then John’s lips were on his, pressing against Rodney in ways that made Rodney’s body twitch to life.

“God. I’m sorry.” Sheppard backed away.

“You’re more drunk on adrenaline than I am,” Rodney said with an uneasy laugh. “You better come down off that high before you see someone you actually like.”

“What?” John frowned.

“Yes, yes,” Rodney handwaved the whole thing away. “Did your radiation meter go off? Are you dying slowly right now? Do we need to go see Carson?”

“The shield held, Rodney. I’m fine. The Wraith, on the other hand, are definitely not fine.”

Rodney tried to figure out how to get back to that place of utter joy—that moment of pre-kiss happiness, but all he could feel was confused. A rush of footsteps rushing toward them saved him from having to come up with any response. Ford reached them first. With a whoop he grabbed his commanding officer and swung him around. John’s eyes got huge and he braced himself on Ford’s shoulders looking like he was about to birth kittens. Then DiNozzo grabbed them both, turning it into a group hug before he hip checked Ford to the side.

“Seriously, you get all the cool jobs. Next time, I get to blow up space vampires,” Tony said. Gibbs and Samas looked unimpressed with that statement, but he shouldn’t worry. Elizabeth and John had been firm about not sending a civilian out to pilot a military mission.

John laughed. And then he kept laughing. The sound spread and as more people crowded into the open-air landing bay. The third hive ship was gone. They’d won. As that realization truly sunk in, Rodney started laughing too. They’d won. They’d done it.

Ladon stood at the edge of the crowd, smiling even if he wasn’t fully joining with the rest of them. Rodney understood what it felt like to be sitting in the middle of a group of people who didn’t want you there. Samas was right… Ladon deserved some respect. Rodney made eye contact with him and nodded. After all, it was the Genii’s bomb. Ladon’s eyes got large, but then he nodded back, his smile wider. Rodney had no idea what he was supposed to do now.

Tony appeared right in front of him, slapping him on the arm. “Good job McWraith-Killer.” Tony glanced over at Ladon before looking back at Rodney. “Really good job, Rod.” With his boyish grin in place, Tony started winding through the crowd toward Ladon. Then someone pressed a cup into Rodney’s hand and he realized that someone had broken out the vodka. Well, they’d all earned it today. Rodney let himself get swept along with the impromptu party.

 

Rodney was a little tipsy when he finally started back toward his quarters to lie down. For nearly an hour, he’d stood on the pier outside the dart bay and stared up at a sky that was blue. No Wraith weapons fire blossomed red and orange against the shield. It was the most beautiful sight he’d seen in too damn long. However, now his neck hurt and he felt a little nauseous from too much vodka and too many sweets. Apparently every Pegasus native in the city had prepared treats to celebrate the moment. 

Fatigue was the only explanation for his total lack of awareness. He was in his room and almost to his bathroom door before it occurred to him that the hero of the day was sitting on his bed. Rodney stopped and turned all the way around to double check his observation, but John was in fact there. “Sheppard?” Rodney asked.

John gave him a huge boyish grin. Rodney was starting to think that boyish charm was naturally embedded with the ATA gene. Even Carson could get that same charm going when he wanted to. “We won,” John said. Rodney looked closer, and John’s body was tense, even if he was smiling.

“If you’re worked up over that kiss, don’t be,” Rodney said, letting John off the hook. “Trust me, I understand how the American military works.”

John lost his smile. “What?”

“Oh, please. Your uptight, moralistic rules are not difficult to understand, and the moronic lengths that soldiers will go to in order to make sure that they never have to deal with any perceived homosexuality is rather legendary. They’ll be slow to follow orders or provide backup, all of which is a way of punishing you for having a strange, passing need to kiss me. Trust me, I am not going to tell anyone, not even to share the humor in it.”

“But… what?” John frowned.

After crossing the room, Rodney snapped his fingers in John’s face. “Keep up. I won’t tell. Now you can go sleep in peace.”

“Do you really think that my Marines are that cold blooded?” John demanded.

“Yes?”

John’s mouth fell open.

“Oh come on. They’re Marines. They have brains the size of walnuts. You can’t ask them to overcome the programming of a homophobic or rather homomisia because American culture hates homosexuality far more than it fears it.”

“They don’t hate Gibbs.”

“He doesn’t sleep with Tony. Samas does.” Rodney rolled his eyes. It horrified him the way some people could not keep the two separate. Samas had a coldly logical mind that Rodney appreciated and a way of turning human behavior into a series of conditional statements that even Rodney could understand. Gibbs, on the other hand, was a classic Marine with the personality of a common turnip.

John narrowed his eyes. “If you think that, you’re not as smart as I gave you credit for. Samas is the one who chases Tony. Gibbs is the one who sits with a cup of tea and watches Tony with a small smile on his face. Trust me, the Marines are well aware that both Gibbs and Samas love Tony.”

“What?” Rodney took a step back. “But they like Gibbs.”

“They do,” John agreed. “The gunny is one hell of a Marine. If he loves a man, they don’t care. They only care if he can teach them how to kick Wraith ass.” Shaking his head, John leaned back, his hands propped on the bed behind him. “Rodney, the SGC sent men who had few family ties—no wives or children. Yeah, lots are straight, but the SGC choosing the way they did guaranteed that Atlantis has a whole lot of people not telling, and I spend even more time not asking. Anyone who hated gays would have looked at the roster and withdrawn his offer to volunteer.”

“Really?” Rodney frowned, and then the embarrassment hit him. He hated being wrong. The shame of it always made him so damn angry. “Fine, whatever, how was I supposed to know? Your whole military system makes no sense.”

John shrugged and gave Rodney a crooked grin. “That would be why I keep getting in trouble for telling them to fuck off. If it weren’t for my gene, McMurdo would have been the ass-end of my career. I would have gotten a few more years in, and then the Air Force would have politely invited me to get lost and never come back again. Maybe not so politely.” 

“Okay, so you aren’t here to make sure I don’t talk. Why are you here? You should be out there celebrating with the locals.”

John cringed. “I don’t wanna,” he whined dramatically. Rodney rolled his eyes. “No, seriously, I don’t want to. They’re all worked up about how I came back in human form a second time just to finish the job. I hate this de-ascended crap.”

“I would have more sympathy if it weren’t true,” Rodney said. “Those who de-ascend can suck it up and deal with it when the rest of us sometimes get a little weird about it.”

“Not you too.” John slumped.

“I work with facts, Major. Facts. Give me another explanation for why you could sit in a time machine and know how to use it within two minutes.”

“I have the gene.”

“Tony worked for three weeks at that projector without being able to get it to do anything other than glow, and you touched it and knew how to run it forwards, backwards, and rewrite the database.”

“I’m better with the gene.” John was getting cranky.

“Fine, fine. Whatever. Now, why are you here?” Rodney suddenly felt too tired to even keep his eyes open. “And make it fast. You’re on my bed and I haven’t slept for three days.”

“We need to talk about the kiss.”

“I understand the concept of adrenaline, major. I am not under any delusions that you would normally grab me and kiss me.”

“No, you’re under the delusion I don’t like you.” John’s voice was sharp now, and Rodney grabbed his desk chair and sat down. Clearly, this wasn’t going to be fast.

“Yes, you like me fine. I get it. Hurry up the lecture.”

John threw his hands in the air before he jumped to his feet. The sudden burst of adrenaline that immediately hit Rodney’s system was enough to wake him up. “Why do you always try and tell me how I feel?”

“Because you can’t talk about feelings. You’re emotionally and verbally constipated, and I don’t have time to wait for you to stutter out three significant words. Major, I am not offended or upset or under any delusions.”

“You are!” John snapped. “God damn it, why are you so infuriatingly hard to talk to?”

“Because I’m me. And what do you mean ‘I am’? I am what?”

“Delusional.” John dropped back down and ran his fingers through his hair. “Do you really think I run around kissing people just because a mission went really fucking awesome?”

Rodney crossed his arms and refused to answer. They were not on safe territory here, and whatever he said, he was guaranteed to be completely wrong in a way that would leave him emotionally scarred and permanently humiliated.

“Rodney, I kissed you because you’re you.”

“Because I’m me?”

John gave him a truly withering look. “Yes. Because you’re you. Because I like snarky and smart. Because I like loyal and I like mouthy and I really like people who build me really big bombs.”

“So go kiss Ladon.”

John stood up slowly. “Rodney, don’t take this the wrong way because I still like you, but sometimes I really want to kill you.”

Rodney snorted. “You and everyone else.”

“I really hope no one else likes you the way I do because it’s not pretty when I get jealous. Now, your big brain clearly needs to process some information, and I need to go away before I give in to my desire to choke you.” He turned his back and headed for the door. When he was standing in the open doorway, Rodney called out.

“John?”

John didn’t turn around.

“You like me?”

At least that made him look over his shoulder. “Yeah, Rodney. I do. Goodnight.”

Rodney wanted to say something, to restart the whole conversation, but then John was gone, and Rodney was left sitting alone in his room, and suddenly he wasn’t tired at all.


	11. The Aftermath of John's Confession

11

Rodney shifted, still not sure how to handle Sheppard's recent revelation. Part of him still expected John to show up and pass it off as a joke. Instead, Sheppard had walked into their meeting, given Rodney a sly smile and slid into the chair next to him. "So, did your big brain manage to finish processing all the data last night?" he teased.

By the time Rodney came up with an answer, Elizabeth was walking through the door. "Major Sheppard, I know I've said this a few times before, but congratulations on an excellent job."

John practically preened at the praise. "It's not everyone who can claim to have single-handedly blown up three Wraith hives."

"Excuse me?" Rodney demanded. "The entire science department had something to do with it."

"I fired the drones."

"Radek and I got the system up and running."

John made a dismissive noise. "I flew the jumper that took out hive number two."

"Radek and I came up with the cloak enhancements that let you fire without uncloaking, and the whole plan was Tony's stupid idea."

"I flew the dart, and I came up with the idea to beam the nuclear bomb into the interior on hive three," John said smugly.

"And the Genii built the bomb, I added the naquedah, Radek and I adapted the shields to interface with Wraith tech, and Samas did the coding work required to get it all to work together." Rodney could feel his anger rising, and suddenly he noticed that Sheppard was grinning at him. He frowned and glanced over to see Elizabeth was smiling too.

"And you were just as amazing, Rodney, you and the entire science department," Elizabeth offered. She sat at the head of the table and opened her laptop. "I have put in paperwork to have both of you receive commendations for your outstanding work."

"You're right. We did do good work," Rodney said. That's what he liked about Atlantis--people finally acknowledged his brilliance instead of constantly shuffling him to the side just because he was bad with people. "I want to talk about rearranging the science department so we can do more good work."

Elizabeth's lips thinned a little, so she clearly hadn't liked his proposal. Sheppard looked confused, though. "Rearrange what?" he asked suspiciously. His body language suddenly had all those odd angles that usually meant he was eyeing the natives and considering exit strategies. What was his problem?

"We have a lot of darts, and I want to put a priority on reverse engineering them. They’re fast and maneuverable, and if we can get a good handle on the beaming technology, that could be a significant advantage.”

Elizabeth tapped her fingers. “Rodney has requested Samas’ full attention,” she said.

Sheppard straightened up. “Wait. You want to have Samas all the time? What about Gibbs?”

“It would mean pulling the gunnery sergeant off training and mission rotation,” Elizabeth said, and from her expression she wasn’t thrilled with the idea.

Rodney threw his hands up in the air. “Oh come on. You have lots of little Marines. I only have one Samas, and he can reverse engineer faster than anyone else in the science department.”

“Put Zelenka on the project.”

“Zelenka is human, not onac,” Rodney snapped. They were being utterly unreasonable.

“Meaning?” Sheppard demanded.

“Meaning onac are designed to remember, not creatively think around problems. If you want technology reverse engineered or information memorized, then onac can do it better than humans. They don’t have silly things like emotions or artistic abilities shoved in there with the logic. I need Samas.”

Sheppard pressed his lips together and Rodney wondered if he was intentionally imitating Elizabeth’s expression. “You’re asking the gunny to give up his life. He would be stuck in there all day every day as you tried to figure out Wraith technology.”

Rodney felt a twinge of guilt at that, but it wasn’t like there were a ton of hosts lining up to give Gibbs a break. Besides, Rodney wasn’t sure Samas would go into another host. For a creature without human emotion, he was very fond of Gibbs. “You’re the one who always says the Marines are here to support the scientific expedition.”

“Support, not get enslaved by.”

Rodney gave Sheppard a blistering look. “Excuse me?”

“You can’t just demand that Gibbs give up his life.”

“Oh, you mean like the way Samas joined with Gibbs in 1991, and never demanded anything except time out to go swimming in the ocean? He’s a genius, and he was stuck inside Gibbs while the man solved crimes and married women.”

“I’ve read the reports.” Sheppard leaned closer. “And I know that Samas built a listening station behind a hidden door in Gibbs’ basement. So clearly he wasn’t locked up all the time.”

“And Gibbs won’t be either.” Rodney’s frustration threatened to overwhelm him, and part of him wanted to throw up his hands and storm out, but he needed this. He needed Samas. “Look, this is important enough that I do want Radek on it full-time. I’d be taking over his duties overseeing the Hoff, but this is a chance to develop new weapons. Samas and I talked, and we agreed that the Wraith are adapting to strategies quickly enough that we’re going to need new weapons all the time. That’s where the Ancients went wrong. They weren’t creative enough, and we can’t keep depending on Tony’s endless store of implausible movie plots for battle plans.”

“I don’t know. It worked well last time.”

“Yes, and now we have fifteen hives headed this way. No doubt you want me to use an Apple laptop and upload a virus.”

Sheppard’s face lit up. “Could you?” he asked with far too much enthusiasm for any sane man.

Rodney gave him a look that had sent interns running away in tears. “No.”

“Well, now you’re just being mean,” he teased as he put on a mock-pout.

Rodney turned to Elizabeth. “We need to move on this technology now. The Hoff can keep the city running, but I want Radek and Samas heading this up with at least a half-dozen members of the hard sciences on the team. The rest of us can pick up the slack in the science department, and if Major Slacker can pick up the slack one the military side, we might have a chance to reverse engineer something before it’s too late.” Rodney ignored Sheppard’s indignant “Hey!” at the slacker comment.

“Have you spoken to Gibbs about this?” Elizabeth asked.

“He grunted something about the good of the expedition,” Rodney said. Truthfully, Gibbs made him uncomfortable as hell. If he were an onac and had to share a body with someone in order to have hands, Gibbs would not be high on his list of candidates. Rodney glanced over toward Sheppard, wondering what he’d find if he were an onac and he climbed in under all that hair. Clearly Sheppard had horrible taste in men, that’s for sure. Rodney couldn’t even remember the last person to pursue him.

Sheppard gave him an odd look, and when Rodney kept staring, he mouthed the word “What?”

Rodney shook himself free of his thoughts, and focused on Elizabeth who had his proposed schedule up on her computer. “This would require some long shifts, Rodney.”

“Hives. Fifteen hives. Have I mentioned that?”

“Yes, I think you might have,” Elizabeth said with a wry smile. “John, we are going to have to get creative. The Daedalus isn’t due for a few weeks yet, and I think the Genii are going to run out of nuclear bombs.”

“I knew we should have packed a few of our own.” 

“Well, we didn’t. Ladon has one more on Atlantis, but he has not been forthcoming about what they might have back on their homeworld.”

“Homeworlds,” Rodney corrected her.

Elizabeth looked at him. “Excuse me?”

“Talk to Tony. Apparently Ladon told him the Genii used to be an empire. Or they were a federation that got destroyed by the Wraith and then they were an empire that got destroyed by the Wraith. The Genii are the Energizer bunnies of the Pegasus galaxy.” 

Apparently he had shocked Elizabeth. Her mouth literally hung open, which wasn’t usual for her.

Rodney shrugged. “The people on Manaria used to be part of the empire, which is why they were so quick to give the Genii information.” Once Tony had told him that, a whole lot of things made more sense.

“And Ladon told Tony this?” Elizabeth asked.

“Tony put on that stupid playboy act of his. Why do people fall for that charm of his?”

“I don’t claim to know, but I will talk to Tony,” Elizabeth said. “John, did you know about this?”

“No.” John frowned. “Maybe I should start making a habit out of having a beer or two with DiNozzo.”

Rodney snorted. “Please. You’re about as subtle as a nuclear bomb. If you want to know something, ask. Don’t play games you can’t win.”

“Who says I can’t win them?” Sheppard actually looked hurt.

“Really? You read people about as well as you can defy gravity. The man made his living out of dealing with people and getting confessions out of them. Give it up. You may be able to outfly Tony, but you’ll never outtalk him.”

“Be that as it may,” Elizabeth said loudly, interrupting their argument, “I will speak to Tony, so there’s no need for anyone to do anything else. Rodney, how important is this Wraith project?”

Rodney raised his chin and tried to brace himself for the potential that he was about to get shot down again. “As important as the ZPM project.” 

Elizabeth gave a weary sigh. “I’ll speak to Gibbs, but if he agrees to turn his time over to Samas, I’m inclined to grant a full transfer over to science department.”

Sheppard slumped in his chair. “Well, my Marines will be less bruised, but in the long run, that might not be the best thing.”

“Hopefully this is just temporary. The Daedalus will be here in a few weeks, and assuming that we can find a way to deal with these hives, they’ll have supplies and personnel. Now, let’s talk about the Athosians who have moved into the city. How are they doing with the new accommodations?”

“We opened new greenhouses, and they have planted a number of quick growing crops to make sure they don’t overtax our food supply. Several went out in jumpers this morning to harvest local grasses to feed the alpaca,” Rodney reported. He didn’t know why he was supposed to keep track of this. There were so many civilians in the city that Elizabeth really needed to have Teyla in these meetings because Rodney did not have time to fill his head with these things that didn’t matter. Yes, the greenhouses fell under botany, but it wasn’t like botany was a real science.

From there the meeting moved on to the daily requirements of running a city. Repair schedules were worked out. The Hoff had actually run out of things to fix in the areas they were using, so some were working on manufacturing equipment and some were starting to fix up areas marked residential by the initial exploratory teams. Rodney was twitching with irritation with how much time they’d wasted before Elizabeth finally called the meeting to an end.

“I believe that’s all gentlemen. Let’s make sure we’re ready before the next wave of hive ships knocks on the door.”

Rodney gathered up his notes and headed for the transport, Sheppard close on his heels. When Sheppard just followed, Rodney hit the level for the labs and tried to ignoring the itching need to say something.

“So, ready to talk?” Sheppard asked as they stepped out into an empty section. 

“This is not a good idea,” Rodney said firmly. He raised his chin and waited for the reaction.

Sheppard just ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, the Daedalus has me a little freaked out, too.”

“The… what?” Some days Rodney wondered if John was speaking the same language as the rest of them.

John glanced both ways down the corridor before he answered. “The Daedalus. You know, when they show up, they’re going to have a new military commander. I’m going to be back to second in command light switch. If I can’t make our schedules, it might be hard.”

“What are you talking about?” Rodney demanded. He could debate the applications of the Friedmann equations for modeling the universe, but he couldn’t track the logic of one John Sheppard. 

“Being together on a base is difficult. If I’m the commanding officer, it’s easier to make sure we have time scheduled together in an area where we can’t be tracked or monitored. But if I have a CO, we’re going to have to dance around him.” Sheppard grimaced.

Understanding Sheppard was like trying to explain scalar curvature to a gibbon monkey. “If we were going to do this, I wouldn’t care whether you were the CO or not. I’m a scientist. Do you have any idea what I can do with sensors? I can have the city computers register us in our rooms all night while we hotwire a jumper without anyone knowing.”

John’s eyes lit up. “Really.”

Rodney made a mental note to stop giving Sheppard stupid ideas. “That’s not my problem.”

It took Sheppard a half second to realize what Rodney meant. That wasn’t his problem because something else was. Rodney could almost watch the emotional guards go up, and Rodney sighed because he hadn’t meant to hurt his friend. “Look, how can we be together when we can’t be in the same room without fighting? You tried to keep Samas away from me.”

“You did take Gibbs away from me. He’s my Marine.” Sheppard had his pout going again.

“Samas is my best coder. And this is what I mean. We fight. How can we…” Rodney waved his hand because honestly he didn’t even understand what John had on offer here. “How can we when we don’t agree most of the time?”

“We’ll work it out.”

“Really? Have you seen a relationship go bad, Major? Have you seen what happens when people who used to care for each other start fighting about everything?” Rodney could feel his stomach churn. He had not meant to open this can of worms.

“Rodney.” John stopped and sighed. “Rodney, we disagree. We don’t actually fight. Do you walk out of that meeting resenting me or wanting to avoid me?”

“What? No.”

“Then we aren’t fighting. Sure, we disagree. My job is to advocate for the military. Your job is to advocate for the sciences. I’m pretty sure our job descriptions require us to disagree, but that doesn’t describe our relationship outside of work.” John reached out and ran his thumb along Rodney’s cheek. A shiver travelled up Rodney’s spike, and John smiled. “You see? You poached my gunny, and we can still stand here like this.”

Rodney pressed his lips together, the corners turning down in what he knew was a very unpleasant expression.

“I take it that your big brain is still working on this then?” John let his fingers curl around Rodney’s neck and rest there for a second before he pulled his hand back.

“I don’t handle change well.”

Weirdly, John grinned. “Good. Then once we work this out, you won’t like the idea of walking away. People walk away from me too easily, Rodney. I’d rather have a rough path getting there than an easy route in or out of this relationship.”

“Relationship?” Rodney’s mouth was painfully dry. It was like his tongue was trying to stick to the inside of his mouth. “Is that what you want? Not fuck buddies?” At least Rodney had some experience with the latter.

“No, I definitely don’t want a fuck buddy.” John shoved his hands in his pockets, which is why I’ll wait.”

“Until after the Daedalus comes?” Rodney asked. 

John looked at him and gave him a slow smile. “Until you’re ready for change. Now, if you’re going to steal my gunny, I want to go and hear it from him that he’s okay with you being greedy. If I even suspect that he’s unhappy, I’m going to go back and argue with Elizabeth until she gives in or throws me out of her office, and the whole time I will still want a relationship with you.”

Rodney grunted. “Steal Samas, and I might not want one with you.”

John grinned. He really was a very odd man. Unfortunately, Rodney’s brain was already starting to consider all the possibilities, and Rodney was having a very hard time keeping in mind that this was almost guaranteed to blow up in his face. Relationships usually did.


	12. Here comes the cavalry... sort of

John was at lunch when Elizabeth's call came over the radio. "John, you need to get up here now." The tone made John drop his half eaten muffin onto his plate before dashing for the transporter. Something was wrong. Well, something other than fifteen new hive ships headed their way. Maybe they'd made a larger than expected hyperspace jump. John wondered why Elizabeth wasn't putting any announcements over the general comm.

He came out on the command level of the tower, and Rodney was already there, bent over the controls and looking grim.

"What is it?"

“The Daedalus,” Rodney snapped.

All the anxiety rushed out of John. “Okay,” he said slowly, “but we already knew they were coming. Right?”

Rodney swung his chair around and gave John a particularly scornful look. That just seemed uncalled for. “Did you expect them in the next fifteen minutes?” Rodney demanded.

“What?” John walked over to the console and looked over Rodney’s shoulder. “How?”

“Clearly they’ve been running silent, and we’ve had our sensors calibrated to track the hives. Right now, they’re just coming out from behind the sun, so it looks like they charted a course that would let them get as close as possible before we saw them, and they’re pretty damn close.” Rodney hunched his shoulders, so John was guessing he felt guilty about that. It was amazing how Rodney could feel guilty about things that weren’t his fault and then turn around and not even notice that he’d verbally eviscerated someone who really didn’t deserve it. Well, that was part of Rodney’s charm, and honestly, John had other things to worry about right now.

“Have they contacted us?” John looked over at Elizabeth as she came out of her office.

She had a grim expression when she said, “No.”

John was officially confused. “Okay, have we hailed them? Maybe they have some damage.”

“None that I can see,” Rodney said, his voice low.

“John.” Elizabeth stopped and sighed. “We are an independent base with the ability to manufacture food and basic necessities, a fully charged ZPM, and the weaponry to destroy three hive ships. Given that other SGC teams have gone native and broken away from the program with far fewer resources, my guess is that they’re worried about whether we’re going to be willing to accept more direct guidance from Earth.”

John turned toward her. “You have got to be kidding.”

“You haven’t been with the program long enough to know where all the bodies are buried, John. The first few months the program was in operation, a captain named Jonas Hanson set himself up as a god and took control of a planet, forcing the natives to worship him. They tightened psychological testing, but since then, there have been two other confirmed cases, and three suspected cases, of servicemen and women going native. Luckily, none of them tried to take over another planet, but I’m sure that’s what the SGC is worried about.”

“They think we’re traitors?” John had never gotten sterling performance reviews, but he’d also never had a superior officer suspect him of betraying his country—hell of betraying his world.

“No, I’m sure they’re just taking precautions until they can get a feel for the politics here,” Elizabeth said in a soothing voice.

Rodney started to mutter, but other than a general sense of unhappiness, John couldn’t actually pick up the words.

“Do we even know who’s on board?” John asked. He was starting to get a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Three of the five officers died within the first week, and looking at that fact through the SGC’s eyes with their history of officers going rogue gave John a whole new appreciation for how ugly this might get. John hadn’t been vetted. He hadn’t been put through a gauntlet of psychological tests because Sumner was supposed to be here to babysit him. It wasn’t Elizabeth they were worried about.

And from the way Rodney hunched over his console, even he knew it. Damn it. Why did John never see these things coming?

He touched his comm. “Sheppard to all military personnel. The new commander will be here in ten minutes. You have eight minutes to get your asses presentable and report to either the gate room or the main training room, whichever one you can get to faster. Those on guard duty, stay sharp, you may have surprise inspections coming your way. And someone hide the vodka.”

Elizabeth had her lips pressed together, but she didn’t comment. “Would an SGC commander want to see Gibbs in a formal welcome?” John was starting to understand that he didn’t know his own people as well as he knew the Athosians and their value for respect or the Dagans and their history or even the Genii and their horrifically fatalistic attitudes. 

“Probably not,” she admitted. 

John touched his comm again. “Sheppard to Samas.”

“Samas here.”

“Samas, I need to borrow Gibbs for a few minutes.”

“Of course,” he said, always calm. After five thousand years, he could afford to be calm. The next voice was gruffer, and John imagined he could hear a little more stress. “Sir?”

“I need you to get down to my office and make it look presentable. You have seven minutes before you need to be clear.”

“Yes, sir.” John could already hear Gibbs footsteps as he ran. He turned his comm off. “This is not how I was expecting this to go,” John complained as the first of his people rushed into the room, transporter doors now sliding open and closed like clockwork, two or three more people arriving each time.

“I rather thought we would have more time to prepare,” Elizabeth agreed. “I’ve spoken to Teyla and Vish and some of the others, but I don’t feel I’ve had a chance to truly prepare them for Earth culture.”

John looked at her. “Vish?”

“The high priest of Dagas.”

“The one who’s always stalking me?”

“He is trying to offer presents, but apparently Teyla informed him that you don’t believe he needs as much guidance as the rest of us, which is why you spend time with us.”

John rubbed a hand over his face. “If this new commander hears about the Dagans worshipping me, I’m toast.”

“They don’t worship you, John, and the report is very clear that McKay and DiNozzo cooked up this scheme to get the ZPM, and you actively opposed it. That’s not the same as Captain Hanson’s treason.”

“I hope the SGC agrees,” John said. He had never looked forward to inspections, but this was the first time he was actively dreading it. Ford came out of the transporter and practically bounded over.

“They’re here? Already? Wow. They must have an amazing ship.”

“Or they’ve been running silent and trying to hide from our sensors,” McKay said, his voice brittle. Not even McKay’s unhappiness could dim Ford’s smile, however. That just put Rodney in an even worse mood.

The men and woman on the floor of the gate room started arranging themselves into ranks, and John looked them over. They were the best people he’d ever served with. Their uniforms were a little ragged, and several had patches on elbows or knees or along the shoulder where a tac vest tended to rub, but they looked like a competent, dangerous crew, and John was proud of every one.

“Rodney, how long?” he asked, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. The soft drone of whispers fell silent. 

“Three minutes to beaming range, assuming they have Asgard transporters working.” Rodney’s mouth pulled down into a frown.

John touched his comm. “Sheppard to all military personnel. Three minute ETA. All remaining off-duty personnel report to the main training room and standby.” He touched the comm off, and turned to Elizabeth. “Should we say something?” he asked softly.

She moved to his side, and touched his arm. “Try to avoid looking like you’re attending your own funeral, John. The appointment of a new commander is temporary, just during the crisis. So we treat this as one more bump in the road, and we accept the help the Daedalus is bringing with it. Think about it. We’re about to get a shipment of coffee.” She glanced over toward Rodney, but he was still staring morosely at his console.

John plastered on his best smile and offered an insincere, “Great.”

Elizabeth sighed and turned toward the assembled personnel.

“Any second now,” Rodney said, and that was confirmed by a bright flash of light. When it receded, John found himself staring down several P90s pointed right at him, but then he didn’t take it personally, there were a good twenty new Marines pointing P90s at all the Atlantis personnel.

“Colonel on deck,” John shouted, and the men and women of Pegasus all went to attention and offered their salutes.

“Yes, yes, ritualized stupidity,” Rodney muttered. John just ignored it as he saluted his new commanding officer, and saluting when you had a fully automatic weapon pointed at your gut was just uncomfortable.

The colonel in the middle stepped forward and saluted John. “At ease,” he ordered, and the Pegasus people all went to parade rest while the new Marines at least pointed the P90s toward the ground. 

“Colonel,” Elizabeth said, stepping forward and breaking the awkward silence.

“Dr. Weir?

She smiled and took several steps down toward him.

“Colonel Dillon Everett, United States Marine Corps,” the man offered, barking the words out. “Sorry about the unfriendly welcome, ma’am, but you folks have about a hundred and eighty more life signs than we were led to expect. Is that friendly company?”

“Oh.” Elizabeth gave a light laugh as if it were nothing to have their own people aim weapons at them. “Those are the Athosians who normally live on the mainland. When the Wraith came, we had to pull back to the main city, and they claimed a small tower Dr. McKay identified as an agricultural center.” 

Colonel Dillon Everett, United States Marine Corps frowned. “And the thirty-two non-humanoid life forms in that same area?”

“Non-humanoid?” Elizabeth turned around and looked up at John.

“Oh for the love of god,” Rodney snapped, “those are the alpaca. Doesn’t anyone know how to interpret a sensor reading?” He had his arms crossed and his best belligerent face on. It had taken John more missions that he wanted to admit before he’d realized that was McKay’s insecure face.

“The what?” Everett asked. 

John spoke up before Rodney could get himself in any more trouble. “It’s like a small llama with a valuable hair that our trading partners use for textiles, sir.”

Everett still had an expression like was waiting for the punch line. 

“I suppose the Asgard don’t normally calibrate their sensors for alpaca,” Elizabeth commented.

“I suppose they don’t,” Everett finally conceded. “General O'Neill sends his compliments on a job well done under extraordinary circumstances,” he told Elizabeth, and not a full second later, he dropped verbal napalm on them. “You are relieved.”

John’s guts turned to ice. He had fully expected to get replaced. At best, he would be under the new commander. At worst, he’d be shipped back to Earth, but never in his worst nightmare had he imagined Elizabeth getting fired. From the look on her face, she was just as shocked.

She moved to the side to physically block Everett from going up the stairs. “Hold on a second, Colonel. I don't think you fully grasp the difficulty of our situation here.”

“You have eight hive ships bearing down on your position. Honestly, I expected you to have three more holding you siege, but since you’ve cleared the decks, I asked Colonel Caldwell to beam men and equipment into position.”

“Fifteen,” Rodney said.

“Fifteen what?” Everett studied Rodney like he was a bug that Everett had just found crawling up the bathroom wall.

“Fifteen hive ships are headed this way.”

“Well, if you folks can take care of three, fifteen shouldn’t be a problem for us. Ma’am,” Everett held a piece of paper out toward Elizabeth. “Signed by General O’Neill.” Then he turned on Sheppard. “Join me in my offices in the conference room. We'll discuss our tactical position.”

Everett turned and moved around Elizabeth, his Marines streaming up the stairs in his wake, and John was left staring helplessly at her. She ran things. He just made things happen.

She turned and raised her voice, which Elizabeth almost never did. “Colonel Everett! Fine,” she said in a diplomatic tone. She usually gave in about two seconds before she verbally gutted someone. It was one of John’s favorite parts of watching her negotiate. “You're in charge, but I should be at that briefing.”

He had stopped near the rail, looking down at all the Atlantis personnel, except Rodney who had moved over to one side. Radek had joined him. “When it comes down to any other aspect of Atlantis, I will be happy to include you,” Everett offered in a condescending voice. “We're talking about our tactical position.”

“I understand that—”

“Good,” Everett said, and then he turned and walked off. Fast.

Elizabeth wearily finished her sentence. “But I have more experience with the enemy in this galaxy than any of the people you’ve brought.”

John cringed, especially since she was right. “Should I…” he let his voice trail off. He actually didn’t know what he should do.

She shook her head. “No, let it go. We can’t afford to have you get on his bad side.”

John looked around, and the Pegasus folk were looking up at him, many confused, and a few openly wary. Stackhouse definitely hadn’t appreciated having a weapon pointed at him. John was just counting his lucky stars that Teyla hadn’t been here. The idea of someone pointing a gun at Teyla slightly terrified him. Teyla’s revenge might not be swift, but it would be thorough. 

“Great. I’ll go play nice,” John told her, and he honestly tried to put on a welcoming smile. He doubted he got the expression right, though.

Trotting up the stairs, John strained to hear what Everett might be saying, but he could only hear Rodney and Radek complaining about how the military shut them out until it needed them to fix something. That stung. John had never shut his scientists out. Hell, he’d given up his best gunny in the name of science, not to mention long hours of turning on Ancient tooth brushes and white noise machines.

When John got to the conference room, Everett barely even glanced up. He was busy pointing out positions on a huge schematic of Atlantis he’d spread out over a table. “We’ve set up rail guns here, here, and here. They deliver an impact velocity of Mach five at two hundred and fifty miles. A standard magazine will hold ten thousand rounds,” he told an overenthusiastic Ford. If the lieutenant got any more excited, he was going to grow a tail and start wagging it. John could recognize jealousy when it rose up and tried to leak out his pores, but for the sake of his career, he tried to stomp it down.

“That’s nothing,” Everett said, clearly enjoying Ford’s attention. Or maybe adoration would be a better word. “We brought six naqahdah enhanced nuclear warheads, twelve hundred megatons apiece. They emit almost zero EM and are otherwise invisible to radar. Once deployed, they will detonate by proximity fuse.”

John could almost see the invisible tail wagging as Ford asked in an awed voice, “Space mines?”

A man with a captain’s insignia answered. “That's right. We use jumpers in stealth mode to place them in a pattern between the armada and Atlantis.” He turned toward John with this open, hopeful expression that made John want to look for the knife in his own back. John had never trusted overly friendly people. They reminded him of his father. “Major, we were hoping you could help us with that.”

“Of course,” he agreed. “I do recommend we keep a couple back. Wraith are clever with tactics, and brute—”

“Negative,” Everett cut him off. “We’re only going to get one shot at this. We need to take out as many hives as possible.”

“Sir, we’ve already deployed two nuclear devices, so they’ll be expecting—”

“Trust me, they won’t expect these,” Everett said, “Major.” 

John snapped his mouth shut. Right. He didn’t have the rank to argue, so he could swallow all the orders and the frustration and just do what he was fucking told, that was the message here. Since coming to Atlantis, John had begun to forget why he’d grown so unhappy in the Air Force. He was starting to remember now.

“Captain Radner, get a full inventory of weapons.” 

Radner turned to one of the sergeants. “Sergeant, you heard the Colonel.”

“Yes, sir.” The sergeant turned and headed out. It was like watching a twisted version of telephone where the people had nuclear weapons. Yeah, John’s dislike of the military was coming home in full force. 

Everett turned to Ford. “I’d like you walk the two captains through your local procedures, staging areas, all of that.”

“Yes, sir,” Ford answered with a smile, and all the enthusiasm that John had once loved now annoyed him as much as it annoyed Rodney. Ford and the two captains left, and John was alone with Everett, two sergeants, and someone who wasn’t wearing any rank insignia.

“Now,” Everett pinned John with a cold look, “Let’s talk about the civilian population. How many are armed and trained?”

John ran his fingers through his hair. “Teyla would have a better idea of that, sir.”

“The woman with the Wraith DNA?” Everett didn’t bother to hide his disgust.

“Yes, sir. She handles most of the details with civilians.”

“Well, do your best, Major.” If Everett tried his best, he couldn’t have come off any more condescending. “But I need a sit rep.”

“Yes, sir. We have under two-hundred Athosians. That is the entire tribe, and normally most of them work on the mainland. They’re farmers, but they have a form of martial arts that is very effective in hand-to-hand fighting. About one in ten are fighters. We have around a dozen linguists and historians from Dagas, and our largest population is normally the Hoff at around a hundred and fifty. They make up most of our city workers including electricians and farmers, but almost none of them know how to fight. They are, however, very motivated, and the Wraith can’t feed on the Hoff.”

“The virus,” Everett said with a grunt.

“Yes, sir.” 

“The Genii are at about a 1960s level of technology, and they are the most familiar with our equipment. I would trust them on the line with our people, but there are only four in the city.”

“Genii.” Everett’s voice had no emotion. “These would be the people who tried to invade and steal the city, and failing that, tried to kidnap Dr. Weir.” The muscle at the side of his jaw was bulging, and John could feel the disapproving stares of everyone in the room. 

John swallowed. “Yes, sir.” It’d been a while since he thought of them like that. They weren’t generic Genii who had invaded, they were individuals. Ladon had a devious streak a mile while. If you got into a game of Pegasus Monopoly with him, he was going to decimate all your little tribes and bunkers and charge you double shares of grain when you landed on his Aurora class warship. And his sister was nearly as bad. She seemed so sweet, and then you’d go back to your quarters and realize she’d insulted three generations of your family. Crusty old Avonli had cancer when he came, and he’d dismissed it, saying it was a small price to pay for such a lofty goal—striking back at the Wraith. But then when Carson had cured it, he’d gotten drunk and cried. And Shae. That woman was whip smart with as many neuroses as McKay. They were part of Atlantis, not invaders. But John couldn’t say any of that, so he stood under the baleful gaze of his new commanding officer and started wondering if the Air Force would let him retire on Atlantis. It might be the only way he stayed.

“How many kids?”

“I honestly don’t know, sir. Quite a few.” John thought about the number of times he’d joined during an impromptu stickball game in the hallways. It always made him smile. Atlantis should have children on it, running, playing. The sound of their yells echoing through the halls was right, somehow. As grand as Atlantis was, silence didn’t fit her.

“Major, your first job is to identify a central area for all civilians. Look for something in this area,” he said as he pointed to the map. “You are to secure the area, ensure beds and cleaning facilities and then start moving them over.”

“Sir, all civilians are already assigned quarters.”

“Major, you have your orders,” Everett snapped.

For a second, John stood there and debated the wisdom of telling an officer to fuck off. But he had little doubt what would happen if he gave in to the urge. “Yes, sir,” he agreed.

“Dismissed,” Everett snapped, and John lost his last chance to try and advocate for his people.


	13. Tony versus Everett and his Marines

Tony shoved the paper in front of Rodney. “Here. Sign this.”

Rodney looked up, and Tony felt a jab of worry. Rodney had bags under his eyes, and he looked like death warmed over, even as he seemed too hyped to sit still. If he were sitting in an interrogation room, Tony would accuse him of being high as a kite. As it was, Tony still suspected Rodney had something more potent than coffee going on.

The worst part was he couldn't really do much about it. Colonel Hardass had no interest in anything that wasn't directly related to the war with the Wraith. Usually Tony would have counted on Gibbs to handle the hardass Marine, but Everett had confined Gibbs to quarters. Worse, Gibbs was being understanding and talking about crises and the need to not distract the new Marines from Earth who likely wouldn’t be comfortable with an onac in their gunnery sergeant. Personally, Tony didn’t give a rat’s ass about some butthurt Marines.

So it was time for Tony to start doing a little undermining. Well, him and a committee of civilians who had all pledged to try and return Atlantis to a civilian city. If it weren’t for the way Weir kept giving Samas thoughtful looks, Tony could even enjoy this game of civilians versus military, especially since he would bet on civilians every time. Military people had too many rules, and the average civilian was a tricky little shit. With Samas and Ladon on their team, they went from tricky to downright diabolical. 

“What am I signing?” Rodney asked as he pulled the paper closer.

“A formal complaint.”

“A what?” Rodney looked up with an expression of alarm. “Why?”

“Because certain Marines have started to taunt you with references to your mouth, what you should do with your mouth, and a disturbing number of references to your ass. I mean, you have a nice ass, McKay, but should Marines really be commenting on it?”

“It's the idiotic posturing of stupid little minds.” Rodney made a face. “Sheppard said to ignore it, that they’re upset because they think I’m gay.”

“Given the number of gay looks you give Sheppard, that’s probably true,” Tony admitted, and he didn’t miss the shock on Rodney’s face. Okay, so clearly Rodney hadn’t realized he’d been mooning over the major. Interesting.

“What? I haven’t… We…” Rodney spluttered into silence and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Hey, I’m all in favor of mooning over guys in uniform, and trust me, Sheppard does his own version of mooning over you when he thinks no one is watching.”

All the defensiveness sort of drained out of Rodney. “Really?” There was a pained hopefulness there that made Tony uncomfortable.

“Would I lie to you, Rod?”

“Yes.”

Tony cringed. “Okay, I probably deserved that. But, I’m not lying about this. And honestly, the Marines are probably acting like asses because they’re trying to defend Sheppard’s honor. Thank god it isn’t the Atlantis Marines doing it, or Gibbs would kick their asses when he got cleared to train them again.” When. Tony was very firmly thinking that it was a “when” he got cleared and not an “if.”

“Right. Like that makes a difference. It never changes, you know. Military people always think they can push everyone else around just because they have weapons.” Rodney stabbed at his laptop, hitting each key with violent little jabs.

“Which is why we teach them different,” Tony said with a smile.

Rodney finally figured out that something was going on. He gave up on typing and narrowed his eyes as he looked at Tony. “What are you doing?”

“My job?” Tony gave Rodney a bright smile, not even pretending that it was the truth. It was almost charming how clueless Rodney was, so Tony tried to avoid confusing him too much. True, sometimes it was fun to screw with Rodney's head, but not today. With as much stress as he was under, his head might pop off. “Look, Teyla and I were talking.”

“Talking?”

“Yes, talking. That thing that people do with their mouths.” Tony dropped into the chair closest to Rodney. “People from Earth have two modes, war and home. When they're at war, they only care about fighting. Then they go home and expect to be safe.”

“And?” Rodney's hand was trembling as it rested against the edge of his laptop, but he was really, honestly paying attention to Tony.

“And Everett is trying to stop life from happening or civilians from living in their normal homes or people from farming without a guard standing over them because he's stuck in war mode.”

Rodney's body tensed up. “We are at war. Did you see Ford? Before he stole a shuttle and ran off, did you see him? And that guy... the one whose name I don't even know. He's like a hundred.”

Tony sighed. Damn Everett for ordering the shield down, even for a few seconds. Yes, they'd taken out three hives, and even the Hoff and the Athosians believed the price was worth it, but they'd lost too many. Seven civilians and four military dead, Ford overdosed with Wraith enzyme and missing in action, and three more military in the infirmary after losing decades of life. Carson still wasn't sure if this was the sort of injury a body recovered from, or if the people genuinely were as old as they appeared.

Samas insisted that he could help by sampling the patients' hormone levels, but Everett had vetoed that suggestion rather soundly. As much as Gibbs was trying to respect Everett’s position, Samas wanted to gut the man, and Tony wasn’t entirely sure that was hyperbole.

“Rodney,” Tony said softly, “this comes under the category of people, and we both agree that I'm better with people, right?”

Rodney got a mulish expression on his face, but he didn't disagree.

“People can't be always stuck in this war mode. Teyla's people live every day in the shadow of the Wraith, but they don't put their lives on hold. Everett is asking us to set everything to one side and focus on the Wraith.”

“Hello! They're Wraith. We have to focus on them,” Rodney snapped. Tony reached out and caught a flailing hand, and Rodney froze. It was like turning off a switch. Yeah, he had something chemical going on with him. Tony made a mental note to talk to Carson.

“We also have to live, Rodney. We may be fighting the Wraith for the next hundred years. We can't put everything on hold. Teyla's right that our way of thinking doesn't work in this universe, so we have to get Everett and his goons to start seeing this as same-old, same-old. We have to get them to start living and stop treating us civilians like we're some obstacle in the way of their grand battle.”

The corner of Rodney's mouth pulled down into a frown. Tony had known Rodney since Area 51, and no one had more respect for how much he'd grown, but sometimes Tony really hated how damn stubborn the man could be.

“Rodney, we need a break. We need to have a movie night or go off-world to trade our eggs or just a day off. Elizabeth is declaring a day of mourning for our dead and having a memorial in the main hall. She’s inviting all the civilians down. Teyla, Holling, Amta, Ladon, and Vish are all helping her plan a ceremony based off traditional rituals. We’ll take the day off and remember the dead and celebrate our victories, and remind everyone that we still have to keep living.”

“Day off,” Rodney echoed in a dismissive voice that made it clear he didn't expect to get one of those any time soon.

“What are you working on, anyway? I never see you in the lunch room.”

For a second, Rodney seemed to lose focus. If Tony had to guess, he would guess that Rodney was on stimulants. People always underestimated how much the over the counter or prescription stuff would screw a person up. “Everett wants to find more drones. I have to find a way to fire them without taking down the shield.” Rodney's eyes darted off to the side as if expecting to see a Wraith appear. Yeah, he was not tracking well.

“We all need some time off. This isn't a war that can be won before we go home, Rodney. This is just the way the Pegasus galaxy works.”

Rodney frowned and pulled his hand away from Tony. “Then we have to make it work differently.”

Tony sighed. The problem with Rodney was that he was so smart he wasn’t used to having to accept failure. That was one lesson life had taught Tony, and he wasn’t sure how to share it. “Maybe we can, Rod, but not in the next two weeks, and I’m not going to let Everett’s goons get away with talking to you like that in your own city. It’s against the law, and it’s a clear violation of code of conduct.”

“And what can you do about it? Hello… you’re not military.” For one horrible second, all Rodney’s misery shone through.

“I’m worse. I’m NCIS. I’m a cop, Rodney. I can write reports that can tank their careers, particularly if I have evidence, and these assholes don’t know where all the security cameras are. I can investigate Everett himself. I’m not military, but I’m not just here as the local light switch, Rod. I’m a cop, and these guys are about to find out what happens when you piss off a cop.” Tony grinned at him. “Now sign the complaint so I can go hand our overlords their asses on a plate. And then Elizabeth and Teyla can show them how little control they have over civilians, and somewhere along the way, we will teach Everett to see us as something other than the furniture that’s in the way of his big, bad Marines. Got it?”

Rodney stared at him for an uncomfortably long time. “Got it,” he finally agreed.

“Good. Now sign.” Tony pushed a pen over, and Rodney took it, signing the printed page with a shaky hand. “If any of them try to talk to you, you ask for me. You are the complainant here, and that means you do not talk to suspects or persons of interest in the investigation. That includes Everett.”

“But—”

“Nope,” Tony cut him off. “Everett has lost his human being privileges. We took a vote. Teyla cast yours for you since you won’t come out of the lab, and we all voted him asshole most in need of an attitude adjustment, and he is officially exiled from the human race until he gets one. Don’t talk to him.”

For a second, Rodney pressed his lips together, and Tony waited for the arguing to start. Rodney surprised him. “Fine, but this isn’t going to end well,” he warned.

“It will end better than it will if we let Everett ride roughshod over us,” Tony said gently. Samas had made that argument very eloquently, and not even Gibbs could convince the stubborn old onac to give Everett the benefit of the doubt. It was strange, but Gibbs was the only one of the Atlantis crew to stick up for Everett, and Tony didn’t know if those two had history, if Gibbs was just sticking up for a fellow Marine, or if he really did understand Everett’s obsessive need to control everything. It honestly didn’t matter, though, because Gibbs had been outvoted.

“Fine. Whatever. I have work to do, work that is actually important, so go away,” Rodney ordered him.

“Now that’s the cranky scientist we all know and love,” Tony said. He grabbed the paperwork and fled before Rodney decided that he did have a list of reasons why Tony was stupid. As much as Tony understood Rodney, he didn’t need his own insecurity issues poked.

 

Tony took a good two days to collect his evidence. He was finishing up taking a statement from Miko Kusanagi when Sheppard appeared at his door and leaned against the side.

“Sheppard,” Tony said with a smile. He stood and offered Miko his hand. “Thank you so much. This is really helpful.”

She stood up and accepted it solemnly, shaking it once. “They should not speak in such a manner about Dr. McKay. He works hard to make sure all of us are always safe.”

“I know.”

“He needs more rest.”

“Yes, I talked to Carson about that.”

Miko made a little unhappy noise at that, and then offered him a very quick and aborted bow. “I shall go, then,” she turned and practically fled. Tony knew she was simply hurrying from place to place because she was busy, and his meeting had interrupted her work; however, she still gave the constant impression that she was fleeing something that was trailing just behind her.

“Tony…” Sheppard said, drawling the name in a way that suggested that the major was less than happy.

“Yep?”

“What are you doing?”

Tony sat down behind his desk and opened his laptop. He had security footage that was visual confirmation of intimidation, but no audio, and now he had statements from six different scientists who had witnessed four different Marines harass Rodney on six different occasions. “Right now I would say I’m building a very strong case,” Tony said.

“Please tell me that you’re talking about a crate.”

Tony gave him a dirty look, and Sheppard sagged more. “Well crap.” He walked into the room and closed the door with a flick of a thought that Tony could feel through his own connection to the city. It was strange. He always knew where Sheppard was and how Sheppard was interacting with the city, even if he couldn’t feel any of the other gene carriers the same way. 

“I have a job to do, major.”

Sheppard dropped down into the witness chair across from Tony’s desk. He’d set the place up more like his desk back in Peoria than NCIS, but it worked. “Everett is not happy,” Sheppard warned him.

“I’ve pissed off people in positions higher than him,” Tony pointed out very honestly.

Sheppard leaned forward. “You’re putting Rodney in the middle, DiNozzo. I was starting to get those idiots in line, and now they’re talking about how Rodney had to go whining to a cop.”

Tony tried hard to rein in a gut level need to call Sheppard an asshole. Rodney was the only person not to blame for this whole mess… well, except that he did tend to call people idiots which sometimes set bullies off, but if Marines couldn’t keep control of their tempers, that was not Rodney’s fault.

“I witnessed a crime, I have evidence of a crime, Everett can be as unhappy as he wants.”

Sheppard brought both hands down on Tony’s desk. Hard. “Damn it, he can’t touch you! Who do you think he’s going to take it out on?”

“He should take it out on his Marines, since they’re the ones so offended by a little homosexuality that they feel a need to act like assholes about it.” Tony had even tried diverting their attention to himself. Pointing out that he wasn’t having sex with a gunny, he was just using a gunnery sergeant’s body to have sex with an onac had been particularly amusing, but in the end, they knew he was NCIS. They knew they couldn’t push him too far without risking their careers. They didn’t understand that Rodney’s friends would rally around him and that fucking with McKay would lead to an even quicker case of career suicide.

“Tony, you know that’s not going to happen. You have to get people to back off. Everett is running out of patience.”

“You mean he has any?”

Sheppard’s face lost all emotion and he stared at Tony with deadly calm. “Everett has told the Marines to take up positions around the city. If civilians attempt to congregate in the main hall, he has ordered the Marines to return them to the main dormitories under lock and key. They have authorization to use force, Tony. This is out of hand.”

“Elizabeth is still in charge of civilians.”

“Everett only has to point up to the sky to prove that we’re in a military situation. The Wraith are still firing on us. The trick with the Asgard transport beam is not going to work again. We’re out of drones. The research on the Wraith darts is nowhere near finished. DiNozzo, this base is a powder keg, and you are threatening to light a match.”

Tony leaned back and looked at Sheppard. The man looked like death warmed over, but then Everett had run him ragged. There wasn’t a person on Atlantis who hadn’t heard that Everett had been friends with Sumner and blamed John for the Colonel’s death. And Tony got it. He understood that feeling of helpless rage knowing your friend had died and you hadn’t done anything to stop it. He still remembered the flecks of warmth on his skin, the sight of Kate falling like her strings had been cut, the cold knife of desperation cutting into his guts. He understood Everett, but he sure as hell didn’t approve of the way the man publicly tore down every decision John had ever made while in command.

“How long can we keep going like this?” Tony asked.

Sheppard ran his fingers through his hair. “It’s been better lately,” he muttered. Better. Yeah, ever since Everett had ordered the shield down, he’d been better. He’d come face to face with a Wraith. He’d seen his men turn into withered husks. Hell, maybe the man had figured out that John had offered Sumner a mercy with that bullet. Who knows?

“It’s not good enough,” Tony pointed out. “Atlantis isn’t a tank you can lock up tight, and that’s how he’s treating us. Besides, I’m not going to stand for his soldiers breaking the law, not on my shift. Next contact with Earth, I’m sending through the paperwork and requesting arrest warrants on Peters, Nelson-Wright, and Dupree. You can warn Everett or not, but I won’t stand back and let them turn this into their own private playground.”

Sheppard frowned. “If this backfires, and Rodney gets hurt, I’m coming after your hide, DiNozzo.”

“That could be interpreted as threatening a federal agent.”

Sheppard smiled. “Oh, it’s not a threat. It’s a warning. Make sure that when you send that, you have the ability to keep McKay safe or Gibbs is going to be spending a lot of time searching for your pieces.”

Sheppard stood and strode out without another word. Tony leaned back in his seat and let his eyes fall closed. He might learn to hate Sheppard, only every time Sheppard touched a wall, Tony could feel the desperation, the frustration, the fear and the longing all seeping into Atlantis’ skin. Tony wondered if the other gene carriers could feel this. The few times that Tony had tried to ask Miko, she’s stared at him blankly, so either she didn’t feel it or she was a lot better at lying than he gave her credit for.

The military hierarchy had trapped Sheppard. This time, Sheppard couldn’t save the city, so it was up to the rest of them. Teyla and Weir and Tony and Vish and all the others were going to have to find a way to pry the military away from the controls. Samas had warned them that power tends to harden over time and that whoever held the power the longest had a distinct advantage that sometimes couldn’t be overcome. They all understood that his warning came from experience, and they all agreed that the power couldn’t harden in the hands of the military.

Now Tony had to do his part and hope the others did theirs.

And if Sheppard was right about Everett sending Marines out against their own people… well Tony wasn’t sure how that would end, but he had to trust Samas, Weir and Teyla to handle that news. He had paperwork to complete if he wanted his warrants.


	14. Rodney takes matters into his own hands

Rodney strode toward the Stargate controls. “Move,” he snapped at the nameless lieutenant at the controls. It should be Grodin up here, but no. And Elizabeth should be in her office, watching everything, but instead she was on Earth trying to get someone to put their damn Colonel Macho on a leash.

“Excuse me?” The lieutenant demanded.

Rodney put on his best annoyed expression. “Power overloads, exploding crystals, losing all access to the Stargate, does any of this mean anything to you,” he snapped, holding up his repair kit. He carefully didn't claim any of that was true here.

“I haven't gotten any anomalous readings.” The lieutenant looked down at the console.

“And you have how many PhDs? Oh yes, we will definitely trust all our technology to you as opposed to the head of the science department.” Rodney physically shoved in, and the guy rolled away in his chair.

“Chair. Gimmie. I'm not killing my back over your console,” Rodney demanded. Thank god for the military kneejerk reaction to authority because the lieutenant got up and handed the chair over. “And don't breathe down my neck. I swear. The quality of the Marines we're getting just keeps dropping lower every day. Next thing you know they're going to be sending twelve year olds with an IQ equivalent to a monkey.”

Rodney stopped and eyed the very young lieutenant, making it clear that as far as Rodney was concerned, that day may have already come. And now it was time to prove it. Rodney hit the lockdown protocols he'd created.

“What are you doing?” the lieutenant asked as Rodney started dialing the gate.

“Really? Are you that stupid?” Rodney rolled his eyes as the eighth chevron locked.

“You can't do that!” The lieutenant lurched forward only to hit the forcefield Rodney had activated and bounce off.

“Sure I can. I have the dialing device. You don't. Therefore, I can dial Earth, and you can't stop me.” Rodney would have been enjoying this a whole lot more if he wasn't so fucking miserable in general. Hell, he might be signing his own dismissal here, but he didn't care anymore. He couldn't keep going the way they were. Tony had been wrong. Dead wrong. And Elizabeth and Teyla had been wrong. Things were so much worse now, and Rodney couldn’t take it anymore.

“Stargate Command, this is Dr. Rodney McKay in Atlantis. Get General O'Neill on the line immediately.” Rodney didn't bother asking for Elizabeth. It was pretty clear she didn't have any power because she'd gone back to Earth and hadn't gotten anyone to budge. It was time for the big guns.

General Landry appeared on the video. “Dr. McKay? Where is Colonel Everett?”

“Not important. Where is General O'Neill?” Rodney demanded.

“Excuse me? What do you think you're doing Dr. McKay?”

Rodney pulled MREs out of his toolkit. “I am leaving this wormhole open and redialing every thirty-eight minutes until you get me General O'Neill. Leave me here long enough, and who knows, maybe I'll find a way to keep a wormhole open indefinitely. I'm motivated. You don't want to see what an astrophysicist can do when he'd motivated.”

The general looked past McKay to the lieutenant hovering behind him. “Lieutenant Anders, you are ordered to take Dr. McKay into custody.”

“Sir, I can't. He has a force field up.”

General Landry's face did a complete emotional shutdown. “Dr. McKay,” he said slowly.

“Nope. I'm not listening. I want General O'Neill. Now. Or I just keep dialing back in.”

“We have people out there who need to come home!” Landry snapped.

“I have people in here!” McKay snapped back, and then he cut the audio. Landry was still shouting, but McKay didn't have to listen to it. He broke open the first MRE and started eating as he watched.

“Dr. McKay, what are you doing? Do you have any idea how much trouble you're going to be in?”

“Yep,” Rodney answered. “And since I'm one of only two engineers who is still on the job, Everett can throw me in a jail cell and then let the city sink. I'm past caring. I haven't slept in two and a half days, and I'm pretty sure that I'm on the verge of a full psychotic episode, so don't poke me.”

“I think we passed the verge a while back,” the lieutenant said, and then he tried to go over to the other console. The force field blocked him, and he finally ended up leaning against the railing. “This is stupid,” he muttered.

“The monkey finally says something intelligent,” Rodney said, “although we probably don't agree on who’s to blame.”

“Probably not.” The lieutenant crossed his arms over his chest. “Have you locked down the transporters?”

“And all the doors between major sectors,” Rodney agreed. “You really aren't that quick, are you?”

“You talked me out of the chair, so clearly not.”

Rodney grunted. The lieutenant almost wasn't horrible, except for the part where he answered to Colonel Everett. After thirty-eight minutes, the wormhole shut down, and Rodney hit one key to trigger the macro he'd designed. Immediately, the wormhole to Earth opened again.

Rodney still hadn't turned on the video, but he was having fun watching Landry make faces as he mentally made up dialogue to match. He had started to work on some equations for shield resonance when General O'Neill's face appeared on the screen. Rodney reached over and turned the audio back on while turning off the city wide lockdown.

“McKay, I am seriously considering sending a troop of Marines to arrest your ass.”

“Good luck getting them through the wormhole,” Rodney pointed out.

Elizabeth appeared at O'Neill side. “Rodney, we just need to talk this out,” she said in that tone of voice that promised reprisals would be coming later. Rodney suspected that she was trying to sound reassuring.

“Oh, we've moved past talking.” O'Neill was definitely pissed. Yep, Rodney was so fired.

The transporter came open, and Sheppard came flying out. He looked around, his eyes wild, but when he saw only Rodney at the controls, he put his sidearm back in the holster and started moving into the room.

“Rodney?” he asked carefully. “Whatcha doing?”

“Talking to O'Neill.” Rodney turned his attention back to the screen. “You sent Everett, so you have to fix this mess he's made. You. You have to. We can't do this if we have to fight him every step of the way.”

“Christ,” Sheppard swore softly. He moved to the edge of the force field and rested his hand on it. “Come on there, buddy. You don't want to do this.”

Rodney whirled around. “And you're taking his orders. He has all my workers under lock and key.”

“He what?” That was Elizabeth.

“We've had a little strike,” Sheppard admitted.

“Little?” Rodney demanded. “There are only two of us left working the shield, and there are seven hive ships left. Seven. What do I do when Grodin gives up and joins the others?”

“Joins the others where?” O'Neill demanded. “What the hell is going on, Sheppard?”

John answered, his voice tight. “After Colonel Everett put the Pegasus natives under lock and key—”

And Rodney interrupted. “Yes, every plumber, every electrician and welder and farmer that keeps this city running is under lock and key. Samas is under guard, not allowed out of his room. Teyla is locked in the dorms.”

“Hey, it's only while the hive ships are there. We can talk to him again once the crisis is past,” John said. As far as soothing went, John sucked.

“He won't even take a meeting with Teyla. She knows more about the Wraith than anyone.”

“I think that's why he's worried,” John pointed out.

“Major,” Colonel O'Neill interrupted, “get to the strike and why there are only two engineers left working.”

“They said they won't stand for Everett's interference in the scientific side of the mission. Rodney and Grodin are the only two who've stayed on duty,” John admitted. “All the other scientists walked out on their jobs and joined the Pegasus civilians in the dormitory.”

“And I can't keep doing it!” Rodney yelled just as Everett came in, a damn P90 pointed at Rodney as if a gun could solve everything. John immediately moved between them.

“Sir, there's a force field. I don't think we want ricochets in here.”

“Major, stand down,” Everett ordered, but then Everett liked to order Sheppard around.

“Sir, he's talking to General O'Neill. Maybe the general can solve this.”

“He dialed Earth?” Everett pointed his gun at the ground, but he was still looking ready to kill as he charged toward Rodney. Even with the force field in place, Rodney could feel the fear rising up in his belly. “How dare you dial without permission.” He seemed to vibrate with rage for a second before turning toward the monitor. “Sir,” Everett said, offering O'Neill a salute, “I have this under control.”

“Oh yeah, it looks like it,” O'Neill commented.

“You broke the city,” Rodney yelled. “Why don't you just take a hammer and start smashing crystals because I know how to fix crystals, but I can't fix people, and you've broken them and they won't work, and I can't fix it. Damn you.” Rodney took the hammer from his tool kit and threw it right at Everett's face. It rebounded and nearly took off Rodney's toe, forcing him to dance backward.

“Dr. McKay, you will lower this force field immediately!”

“You give orders that don't make sense and expect science people to listen to you just because you can blow things up. The Hoff are part of us. Scientists. Workers. They don't deserve to get locked up.”

John moved in on Rodney's side. “Hey, buddy. I think you made your point now. Let me in, okay?”

“I can't fix this. And I don't know what to do because I’m not good with people, and Radek won't even talk to me, and I can't think anymore.”

“Hey, how long's it been since you slept, McKay?” John sounded worried now.

The lieutenant offered, “He said earlier that it have been two and a half days.”

“Christ, Rodney.”

“I can't sleep. I have to do everything because I can't fix people, and what if the shields go down, and I can't take that risk. The Wraith will kill everyone. Don't ask me to take the shield down again.” Rodney looked at John and begged. He was beyond pride anymore. He didn't have anything else to give. He dropped into his seat, and John crouched down.

“I promise I won't ask that, and if I do ask you to take it down, you can ignore me, okay?”

“Colonel, did you take the shield down?” General O'Neill asked.

“Yes sir,” Everett answered. “One of the other planets donated a load of drones, but they were from an older system and weren’t totally compatible. We dropped the shield for three seconds while we fired our weapons. It allowed us to take out three hive ships.”

“And the men who died because I couldn't get the shield up again fast enough?” Rodney demanded.

“Hey,” John said sharply. Rodney looked over. “Look at me, Rodney. Concentrate here. I'm the soldier, right?” Rodney nodded. God, his brain felt like it was wrapped in spider web. “Then protecting people is my job, not yours. You're awesome at your job, Rodney. You've kept the shields up, and you haven't even had Radek or Samas to help. That makes you the biggest, baddest scientist on the block, right?”

McKay didn't know. He felt like he was fraying on the edges.

“McKay, lower this shield,” Everett snapped.

Rodney whirled his chair around. “Why? So you can lock me up too? We all have to be just like you are we belong in cages, right? Cages where we can’t breathe your perfect Marine air. Hey, Sheppard's an ancient, lock him up for being different while you're at it, or that guy, that guy's black. Lock him up.” Rodney pointed at a random Marine, noting for the first time that he had a lot of P90s pointed at him. Idiots. P90s were nothing compared to the power of physics and a genius brain.

Everett pressed forward, his hand right up against the force field, and Rodney mentally calculated the additional drain on the ZPM as the force field had to compensate for the pressure. “Don't you--”

“Colonel Everett,” O'Neill said sharply. “Get a medical team to the gate room. Dr. McKay is obviously in some distress, but given that his first instinct was to call home rather than head for the armory, I think this is a medical issue. As soon as we can get a wormhole established, I'm going to bring a team through.”

“Hear that, Rodney,” Sheppard said. “O'Neill's coming. I bet he's even going to bring Carter, and then you can wax poetic about how she's the only woman worthy of bearing your young.”

“Oh god,” O'Neill said. “Has he seriously said that?”

“Multiple times,” John agreed.

“It's true,” Rodney pointed out. He always spoke the truth.

“Well that explains her attitude,” O'Neill said dryly. “And yes, we will be bringing Carter. Only we can't bring anyone through as long as you're holding the gate hostage, McKay.”

“Come on, buddy. Shut down the gate. And while you're at it, let me in there, okay? You're worrying me.”

“I can't keep doing this. I can't fix Radek,” Rodney said.

“Radek will be fine. Let me in, buddy. Hey, here comes Carson. I bet he's going to use the big needles on you.”

Rodney looked up, and Carson was coming toward them. He grunted. “I'm surprised he's not in lockup for being Scottish. You can't be a true-blooded Marine worthy of sharing Everett's air if you're Scottish.”

John cringed. “Okay, you are definitely not firing on all cylinders here. Do you have a way to let one person into the force field? Can you let down just one side?” John asked.

Rodney smiled. “Like making a hole in the city shield.”

“Yep, that's it buddy. Let me in there before you crash, okay? Let me in there, and then you can catch up on three days' worth of sleep, how does that sound?”

“Wonderful,” Rodney admitted. “I'm so tired.”

“Yeah, I bet. No one has been dragging you out for meals, either. I wonder where your blood sugar is.”

“MREs,” Rodney said, holding up the packaging. “I wonder if it was drugged because I don't feel so well.”

Carson moved in next to John. “Major, he's been getting stimulants from me for the last week or so. It looks like the daft bugger took too many at once. We might be looking at an overdose, either that or he’s about to crash.”

“Great,” John said. “So now Grodin is the only one keeping the shield up. General O'Neill, how fast are you planning on getting us some science folk?”

“How fast can you get Rodney to turn the gate loose?”

John turned to Rodney. “I'm just going to keep bugging you, McKay. You can let me in now or later, but I won't give you a second's rest until you let me in. I'll go get Tony and we'll double team you with stupid movie references.”

“You're sadists, both of you,” Rodney said. He calibrated the shield to redirect all energy toward Everett’s hand. That weakened the other side, and Rodney gestured toward it. 

John smiled. “Yep, I am. Carson too.”

“Don't be giving him ideas,” Carson complained.

John had to force his way through the shield. “Disengaging, General. He reached over and turned off the Stargate, and Rodney realized it was over. He'd given up his position in Atlantis. He'd probably committed treason, although that was debatable because he was Canadian.

John's hands were around his arms, sliding down to catch Rodney's wrists, and Rodney let his eyes drift closed. It was all gone now. Even John was gone, not that he'd ever had a chance with him. Everett showed up, and that was the last time they'd even talked about a relationship, and Rodney had turned him down. Clearly Rodney needed therapy. A lot of it.

“Carson, his pulse is awfully slow.”

“I'm going to need this shield down.”

“I'll do my best. I'm not Radek. Um, sir, do you think someone could go and tell Dr. Zelenka that Rodney managed to trap us inside a force field before passing out?”

Rodney fell asleep to the sounds of Carson and John, and he pretended that they were back the way it had been two weeks ago when everything made sense.


	15. O'Neill in Atlantis

“Jack, are you sure you want to do this?” General Landry asked.

“Nope,” Jack answered. “I’m too old to go through the Stargate, especially to another galaxy.” And the damn P90 felt weird against his chest. When had these things gotten so heavy?

Landry gave him a weary look. “Then don’t go.”

Part of Jack didn’t want to. He really was too old to do this, but he was the one who had sent Dillon Everett. At the time he’d wanted to send the best Marine for the job, but Everett never had much patience for civilians. Clearly that had turned into a major problem, and Jack cleaned up his own messes.

“Sir,” Carter offered as she joined them at the junction of two corridors.

“Carter,” he greeted her. This was feeling like old times. Mitchell joined them at the next junction looking all bright eyed and bushy tailed, and suddenly Jack felt every year of his age. He’d never expected to live long enough to get old and creaky, but compared to Cameron Mitchell, he was positively ancient.

“General,” Mitchell offered with a nod. They walked into the gate room, and a dozen scientists and a half dozen marines were waiting for them. O’Neill made eye contact with Major Lorne, and the man gave him a half smile and a nod. Sometimes it took a more junior officer to smooth out a commander’s rougher edges, and Major Lorne was an SGC veteran. Unless Jack changed his mind, when the rest of them came back, Lorne would be staying. If the man could handle an unas uprising over mining rights, he could handle McKay. Hopefully. Jack felt a little flash of guilt over sticking the major with this assignment.

“So, I hear McKay made a real fuss about Colonel Everett,” Carter commented. She had that butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth expression going.

Jack gave a little shrug. “Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s still thinks you’re worthy to carry his young.”

Carter flushed a magnificent red, and half the scientists turned to stare at Jack with open mouths. Clearly he hadn’t been around enough if they thought that was the most shocking thing he could say.

“McKay is an ass,” Carter finally snapped. Damn, it didn’t used to take her that long to recover. “However, I’ve never known him to be an illogical ass.”

“We all have our breaking point, and apparently a weeks’ worth of stimulants and Dillon Everett is McKay’s.” 

Jack snuffed out the little bit of guilt he felt for setting that mess up. When they’d first got the reports, it’d been some damning stuff. Captain Parker and Lieutenant Wilder died in the first conflict on Athos. Sheppard shot Colonel Sumner through the heart. That left Sheppard leading a military structure that had been reduced to one wet-behind-the ears lieutenant who had been sent along as a backup, one gunnery sergeant with a goa’uld in his head, and Bates. 

Add in a certain local belief about Sheppard being de-ascended, and the makings for a nice little personal kingdom were all there. Jack had met Sheppard, after all. The man was a cold bastard who had been just as happy to walk away from the expedition. Jack had to apply a little pressure to the man just to get Dr. Weir’s light switch to go with them.

If Jack had any clue that Sumner and Parker would die inside a week, he never would have allowed a loose cannon on the mission. Never.

So sending Everett had seemed like a fucking great idea. If anyone knew how to break up power struggles and take control of a situation, it was Dillon. No one argued with him, not for long, anyway. Jack had watched Dillon plow through situations that would have left other men twitching and calling for backup.

Jack hadn’t taken into consideration that the civilians might not appreciate being bulldozed. And he definitely hadn’t expected to see Sheppard kneeling down trying to talk his geek out of a bad situation. The man he’d seen on that video feed from the Pegasus galaxy was nothing like the emotionally closed off bastard Jack had met flying helicopters. Jack knew one thing—the situation on the ground had changed. If they wanted to hold onto Atlantis, Jack needed a better idea of what was going on.

“Sorry. Sorry. I’m here.” Daniel came skidding into the room, his glasses askew and his pack in one hand.

Jack looked over. “Now this seems familiar.” 

“Yes, sir, it does,” Carter agreed, her voice affectionate. 

“Very funny.” Daniel glared at both of them. “I was trying to catch up on the reports. I haven’t kept up on the local population.” He reached up and shoved his glasses higher on his face. “Jack, did you know there are arrest warrants out for three of the Marines under Everett?”

Jack gritted his teeth. “Yes, Daniel. I did. We will be bringing those three home with us.”

“We aren’t going to let them get away with sexual harassment, are we? Jack, what those three did—”

“Is a disgrace to the uniform,” Jack snapped. “They will go in the brig the second they come through the gate, and they’ll have a fair trial before we throw them under the mountain. Now focus Daniel. I have a civilian population in revolt here. Focus. I’ll take care of the naughty Marines.”

Daniel’s glare got exponentially darker, and Jack did remember Danielese well enough to know that the man was pissed about the word naughty. The fact is that the NCIS agent’s report made it clear that those three were criminals, but Jack couldn’t go there right now. He needed to focus on the situation with the civilians and Everett. Sexual harassment was such a mundane charge that Jack didn’t have room for it in his brain, although part of him wondered if that wasn’t at least part of the reason for McKay’s little break from sanity. Either way, the legal charges were a problem for General Landry to handle as soon as the three men were turned over to him.

Jack would have killed anyone who had talked to Daniel like that, so he didn’t know what it meant that Sheppard hadn’t.

The walls of the room were lined with crates with more ammunition, more nuclear weapons, and more medicines for the city, and the men and women going with them had all claimed crates to push through. Jack eyed some poor corporal in charge of a palate of crates taller than him. If the kid looked like he was steering it off the edge of the ramp, Jack would step in, but one of the perks of being a general was the ability to avoid manual labor.

“SG-1, you have a go,” General Landry said, and the gate started dialing.

“Good to have you with us, sir,” Mitchell said.

Jack grunted. It wasn’t feeling very damn good to have to go and clean up the mess he’d helped Everett make. “Carter, get up to speed on the shield ASAP. See if you can’t talk Zelenka into playing nice now that someone is listening to their complaints.”

Jack watched as Dr. Weir walked into the room as the outer ring on the Stargate spun. She smiled and nodded his direction, but it was a tight, unhappy expression. The IOC had been less than impressed with her request to promote Sheppard and appoint him as the head of the military. Jack had not done a whole lot to support her, either. After seeing Sheppard trying to talk McKay out of holding the gate hostage, he was starting to think that maybe he should have. But in his defense, Sheppard had a large civilian contingent of workers who answered to him, people who thought he was de-ascended, and an alien leader on his gate team. He came off sounding a little like a warlord.

The event horizon splashed and the first of their reinforcements started through.

“We are going to listen to their complaints, right?” Daniel asked.

Jack gave Danny his best grin. “Are you getting jaded in your old age?”

“Yes.”

Daniel used to be more fun to pick on. “Yes, Daniel, we are going to listen to every single annoying gripe they can come up with.”

Daniel glared at him. Jack couldn’t resist grinning back. When he turned to face the Stargate, he found Elizabeth glaring at him as well. Geez. None of these people could take a joke.

“Daniel, talk to the civilians,” Jack said. “We really do need to know how to get the city back on track, so find out where their non-negotiables are.”

“Getting locked up is probably one.” Daniel had his cranky voice out.

“Probably,” Jack agreed. He understood Dillon’s need to get the civilians into a small, defensible area, but Jack had found that a lot of people didn’t appreciate being treated like they couldn’t take care of themselves, even when they couldn’t take care of themselves. Take Daniel, for instance.

“Ready, sir?” Mitchell asked.

Jack would have made a smart ass remark about how he’d been ready since before Mitchell was born, but he was already feeling old and cranky. He didn’t need any more reminders. So he just strode up the ramp and headed into the event horizon one step ahead of his former team.

Atlantis stunned him. It wasn’t just the light pouring in through colored glass or the clean lines that seemed to soar up forever. No, it was the whispers that he could almost hear, the sense of _home-right-stay_ that pulled at him.

“General on deck,” someone called, and Atlantis personnel lined up on either side of the gate went to attention. 

“Yeah, yeah, at ease,” Jack groused. He’d forgotten how annoying that was… not that he’d mind a few senators or IOC members going to attention for him. Maybe he could get them to see sense. 

“General, in a good mood as usual then?” Colonel Dillon Everett stood at the top of the steps with his own second—a captain whose name Jack could never remember—standing on one side and Major Sheppard standing on the other.

“Yeah, insurrection just makes me cranky, unless I’m the one instigating it.” 

Everett saluted, and Jack saluted back before heading up the steps, his old knees complaining just a little. “Good to have you on Atlantis, sir.”

“You may change your mind about that,” Jack warned. Dillon’s chin lifted a little, which from him was as good as a flinch. Yeah, he was smart enough to know that this trip had not improved his career options. Jack turned around and nearly got run over by Daniel who was watching everything except where he was going. Jack caught him by the shoulders, and Daniel blinked owlishly and looked at Jack.

“Watch who you’re walking into,” Jack complained. Damn he’d missed this.

“I’m not walking into you because you always stop me first,” Daniel pointed out before he detoured around Jack and went back to his rubbernecking. That was Daniel logic for you.

Jack decided to focus on the people who might actually listen to him. “Dr. Weir, maybe you can introduce Daniel to your civilian population. Carter, you get to ride herd on McKay—”

Sheppard spoke up. “Sir, he’s still in the infirmary. Dr. Zelenka is back on duty, but he’s promised to end his shift if any more Marines tell him what to do.” He gave Everett a little sideways look.

Jack sighed. “Carter, you’ve got Zelenka. Mitchell, go play with Sheppard.”

Colonel Mitchell raised an eyebrow at him, but Jack was already headed for Dillon. “So, where’s your office, and do you still have the smooth stuff in your desk drawer?” They’d been colonels together in the SGC with O’Neill getting the second-in-command because of his time in rank, but Jack had known Dillon too damn long for them to stand on ceremony.

“Unfortunately, sir, the only thing they have around here is illegally brewed vodka, and I am not about to condone illegal stills on base.” Dillon gave Jack just enough of a look for Jack to know there was a big bottle of the stuff in the office. Good because one of them was going to need it.

Jack left the others to sort the rest out while he followed Dillon to the man’s office. The room was huge with a center table and a balcony that looked out over the ocean. However Jack looked up. The blue sky above them was stained with orange and yellow blobs like jello dropped on a glass top table.

“It’s hard to think that one of those blasts could destroy a big chunk of the city.”

“Not really,” Jack answered Dillon. “You and I have seen enough destruction to expect the worst. How’s the city holding.”

“If it weren’t for one full ZPM, we wouldn’t be,” Dillon answered. “I’m not going to sugar coat this, General, we’re in some deep shit here.”

Jack forced his attention away from the light show the Wraith were putting on for them. “Other than that, how's it going?”

Dillon grinned. “We've taken down eight ships full of Wraith.”

“Yeah. Good job on that. I thought we had all the fun with the enslaving goa'uld, but I guess the Pegasus galaxy got the good bad guys.” O’Neill abandoned the balcony and headed back into the officer Dillon had claimed for his own.

“Yes, sir.”

Jack dropped down on a bench along one wall. “Don't sir me, Dillon. How long have we served together?”

For a second, Dillon studied him as though unsure of what he should do. Finally he nodded and sat on the bench opposite. “A lot of years, Jack.”

“Too many. So tell me what's not in the report.”

Dillon sighed. “The civilians on this base are insane.”

“Yeah, civilians,” Jack shrugged. “They’d be easier to handle if they’d be less like civilians.”

Dillon snorted.

“Christ, Everett, you’ve done a number here—good and bad.”

“So, are you here to relieve me of the command?”

“Do I need to?”

“Fuck, no. McKay was completely out of line with that stunt and if it weren’t for Sheppard.... He has let Weir and McKay stick their oars in military waters. You and I both know that Sumner never would have let a civilian make some of the hare-brained decisions these idiots have. They have unvetted civilians handling critical city systems during a siege. That one was Weir’s idea.”

Jack nodded. “I read the reports.” He wasn’t terribly impressed. And at first, Bates and Sheppard seemed to have shut down Weir’s request for more civilian contractors, and then a couple of months later, Sheppard did a complete 180 on the issue. 

“And then Weir tried to lead her own coup. I had ordered all civilians to remain in defensible stations, and she tries to lead them out onto a pier for a memorial service. Shit. We have enemy firing on our position, and she wants to hold a candlelight vigil.”

“You should see some of the stupid shit Danny’s tried over the years.”

“And you complained each and every time,” Dillon pointed out. Jack couldn’t exactly argue the point because he had. In fact, several times he’d handled it exactly like Dillon had, by strong-arming the civilian in question. The difference was that Daniel liked him enough to chew him out in private instead of filing a formal complaint.

“And I listened to him before I decided to stop him from doing stupid shit, and sometimes I stood back and gritted my teeth and really prayed his stupid shit wasn’t going to get us killed as I let him do it anyway,” Jack pointed out.

Dillon leaned back and scrubbed a hand over his face. “These people don’t take the threats seriously, Jack.”

“I don’t know. The Hoff poisoned themselves just to make sure the enemy would kill them instead of eating them. I think they’re pretty serious about all this.”

Dillon gave him a narrow-eyed glare.

Holding up his hands, Jack tried to explain. “I see your position, Dillon. I do. I just think things are a little out of hand.”

“And I should let untrained individuals loose on the city grid while we have Wraith firing at us?”

“Have you met McKay?” Jack demanded. “If those workers didn’t know what they were doing, McKay would have stripped the skin off their backside already. Trust your people, Dillon.”

“They aren’t my people,” he snapped.

“No, your people are sexually harassing the science staff and provoking NCIS agents.” The words came out a lot angrier than Jack had intended, and he could practically see Dillon shut down. Jack sighed. “I don’t get it, Dillon.”

“They fucked up.” Dillon shrugged.

“They fucked up? That’s it?”

For a second, Dillon pressed his lips together and seemed to struggle with his temper. “I have a twenty-two year old kid in the infirmary who looks like my grandfather. Ford is missing in action, half-stoned on this Wraith enzyme. I have men dead, and civilians dead, and civilians who won’t listen despite the fact that there’s a good chance more of them are going to be dead, and right in the middle of this pressure cooker, I have fucking McKay mooning after Sheppard like damn puppy dog. So yes, my guys got out of hand. They were trying to protect Sheppard’s career because they have the bad judgment to like the guy.”

Jack felt like he’d been hit with a zat blast. McKay was mooning after Sheppard? Of all the explanations Jack had been prepared to hear, that wasn’t one.

Dillon gave a rough laugh. “At least when Jackson gave you all those looks, the rest of us knew he had a wife out there—that you were the big damn hero who had come in and saved him from Apophis. It made sense that it was hero worship. But McKay… there’s no way to take that as anything other than serious lust, and I honestly think Sheppard is just clueless enough to not notice.”

“McKay is chasing Sheppard?” Jack’s brain definitely needed bleach.

“He’d doing a piss poor job of it, but yeah, that’s the scuttlebutt.”

“And your Marines decided to teach McKay a lesson?”

“My Marines,” Dillon snapped, “were trying to keep Major Sheppard’s career from getting flushed. I wouldn’t be here if the IOC wasn’t seriously worried about Sheppard, so his career is on the line. My guys were a little too aggressive about trying to humiliate McKay into backing off, I admit that. I should have come down on them harder, but I did tell them to knock it off, even before DiNozzo got involved. But in their defense, they were concerned about Sheppard.” Dillon laughed. “Sheppard. I wanted to hate him, you know?”

“Because of Marshall?” Jack asked. Marshall Sumner had been a damn good man. If it weren’t for the lingering rumors of a little man-on-man indiscretion in his past, he would have been promoted ahead of Jack, and he’d seen Pegasus as his chance to start over without the damn regs hanging over him every single minute.

“He deserved better than a bullet,” Dillon said, his voice rough.

“Yeah, he did,” Jack agreed. “But Sheppard didn’t have a choice. We would have done the same.”

Dillon nodded. “Yeah, after seeing what those bastards did to Chartering, I know I wouldn’t want to survive a feeding.”

“And both of us would die if living meant we gave the enemy more information. Sheppard did what Marshall would have wanted.”

Dillon didn’t answer, but he got up and went over to the desk. Jack watched him retrieve the bootleg vodka and pour some into two glasses. He brought one over to Jack before offering, “To Marshall.” They touched glasses and then Jack downed the liquor. It burned the whole way down, but that felt right. 

“To Marshall,” Jack agreed once he was sure the lining of his throat wasn’t on fire.

“How do we fix this?” Dillon asked. He sat on the bench again.

“I don’t know that I can fix the mess DiNozzo’s made,” Jack admitted. NCIS was separate so that the chain of command couldn’t interfere with investigations or reports.

“I was never going to make general anyway,” Dillon said with a shrug, “but don’t let them bury those Marines too deep. Anyone other than McKay would have gotten a clue and the men would have backed off.”

“It doesn’t excuse sexual harassment, or abusing the trust of the civilians we’re supposed to be protecting,” Jack pointed out. “But that’s Landry’s jurisdiction, and I’m not going to go stepping on his toes.”

Dillon looked supremely unhappy, but he didn’t argue.

“I’m putting you in for a commendations for the eight hive ships you have taken out.”

“Then put one in for the men who died and one for Sheppard who used those drones and Ford who took on that Wraith to save two Marines and Steven who brought the Daedalus in close enough for use to use that trick with the Asgard beam and a bunch of nuclear weapons. There are a lot of good people here.”

“Yes, there are,” Jack agreed. “You’re probably not going to be able to keep this command.”

“You’re going to hang me out to dry in order to appease the civilians, aren’t you?”

Jack grimaced. “I really hate the way that sounds.”

“But you’re going to do it anyway.”

“I really hate being a general,” Jack complained. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get the city functioning. You’re the military commander for now, but find Major Lorne and brief him on operations so that if we have to move fast, we can.”

Dillon stood up. “Yes, sir,” he said, offering a salute.

It made Jack feel about two inches tall. He’d set Dillon up with this mess, but there was no way for Jack to take his share of the blame here. “Go away before you make me feel even worse,” Jack ordered.

Dillon started toward the door, but halfway there he stopped. “Jack?”

Jack looked up. Whatever shit Dillon wanted to dish out, the least Jack could do was take it. 

“We get the job done. If these people need a scapegoat to get back on the job, then we give it to them, as long as that means we keep Earth secure, that’s the job. You’ll still have a beer waiting for you at my house on Saturday.”

“Sometimes it feels like we have to give up too much for the job,” Jack confessed. He wouldn’t say that to just anyone, but he and Dillon had fought side by side. They’d lost men together, fought goa’uld together, trained together. They’d shared beers and laughed about the new recruits and how they’d handled the mock foothold situations designed for training. They’d commiserated about getting beat black and blue training with Teal’c and they’d shown up in dress uniforms for too damn many funerals.

“It’s the job we took. I’d rather be in my shoes than yours,” Dillon said, and then he left before Jack could come up with a response. The worst part was that Jack agreed with him.


	16. The best laid plans...

Jack looked up from the desk as Daniel came in. “Good news?” he asked. Daniel didn’t have that sour expression that meant he’d been talking to people who refused to listen.

“They’ll go back to work on the condition that Dr. Weir is in charge of the city,” Daniel said as he came in and dropped into one of the chairs.

Count on Danny to fix things. “Excellent.” Jack clapped his hands together. “Now we just need to figure out how to get rid of the Wraith, and we can all live happily ever after.” Jack actually liked this plan Sheppard and McKay had put forward. They wanted to blow a nuke above the city, and while the Wraith sensors were blind, cloak the city. It was clever plan, assuming it didn’t end with them all dead. Everett had vetoed it in favor of actually killing the Wraith, but Jack figured that might be one of those long-term goals.

“Are you going to let Elizabeth run the city?” Daniel asked in that tone that suggested he was armed and ready for a fight.

“I don’t want to run it, and Dillon hasn’t done the best job, so why not.” Jack shrugged. Daniel studied him for a few seconds as though waiting for some punch line, but Jack was being honest. He didn’t want the city. He had enough trouble trying to keep the politicians’ fingers out of the SGC—he couldn’t do that from another galaxy.

Eventually Daniel leaned back and started in on his culture crap. “The belief systems here are fascinating. The gate’s linguistic program is much more sophisticated, so identifying the linguistic mismatches is a little trickier, but I’m almost positive that the Hoff, Athosians and Dagans have no word for soldier or warrior. For them, everyone is a potential target and everyone is a potential fighter. The Genii have the concept of warrior, but it basically includes every able-bodied person old enough to hold a weapon and young enough to not fall down while doing it. The idea of a small, dedicated warrior class is completely alien to their way of thinking.”

“Huh.” Jack provided just enough verbal feedback to allow Daniel to keep going. He’d found a long time ago that letting Daniel run himself down verbally was the best strategy if he wanted to work a word or two in for himself later.

“By coming in and trying to protect them, I’m pretty sure that Colonel Everett implied they were either children or infirm, and that didn’t go over well. It’s as if we went back to London during the blitz and suggested that all the English should give up their daily life until the military had managed to defeat the Nazis, only in this case, the cultural taboos against that sort of paternalist behavior are even stronger. At least the English understood the concept of a military.”

“Hard to have a military when the enemy keeps eating it,” Jack pointed out. That was disturbing on a level that Jack couldn’t quite wrap his head around, and he’d seen a lot of very wrong shit in his life.

“I wonder how the Wraith justify that sort of decimation of a sentient species. There has to be some sort of psychological defense mechanism that allows them to dismiss humans as food. The goa’uld not only took on the persona of gods, but they honestly believed that they were gods. It gave them moral license to treat people as slaves. However, the Wraith have no relationship with humans, and they must know that humans are capable of technological feats that equal their own. How can one sentient species completely disregard the most basic of rights when it comes to another sentient species? I would kill to get even a taste of their culture.”

“Taste might be the wrong word, and if you even think of trying to play nice with a Wraith, I’ll hogtie you and toss you back through the gate,” Jack threatened.

Daniel rolled his eyes as if Jack had said something outrageous. 

“Try me,” Jack warned.

“I’m not going to invite them for dinner. I’m just curious.”

“Be curious from a distance, Danny.”

“I’m not stupid, Jack.”

Jack wisely chose to not comment.

“The Genii are fascinating. Did you know that at one point, the Genii federation had over fifty systems, shipyard, a faster-than-light space fleet and advanced technology?”

“I thought they were in the 1950s with their technology.” Jack’s gut gave a little twinge of worry at what other surprises these guys might have up their sleeves.

Daniel leaned forward, his face lit with passion, so Jack figured he was about to get a history lesson. He’d missed how utterly geeky Daniel could get over history. “They are now, but that’s after thousands of years of conflict with the Wraith. From what I could figure out, they were one of the most advanced races after the Ancients left. They even had some Ancient technology. While the Wraith hibernated after the fall of Atlantis, the Genii rose up, created a federation of planets, and then got utterly crushed when the Wraith woke up. Several of their ships escaped and formed a separate culture, but the Genii were put back thousands of years. Any technology that was advanced enough to put out an energy reading attracted full-scale attacks they couldn’t defend against.”

Jack made a little humming noise as he went back to scanning his reports. The Genii had tried to take the city by force, so Jack wasn’t feeling very sympathetic about their woes. 

“After the Wraith went back into hibernation, the Genii rose again, and from what Ladon Radim isn’t saying, it sounds like they were a much more fascist society the second time around, which isn’t surprising. A lack of resources would have—”

“Danny,” Jack interrupted.

“What?” Daniel looked at him with a wide-eyed curiosity about what Jack might say, not even a trace of frustration at the interruption.

“Ladon Radim was one of the soldiers who tried to take Atlantis and who killed two Marines. Tell me you weren’t alone when you were talking to him.”

“You’re as bad as Everett,” Daniel said with a dramatic eye-roll.

“When it comes to you, yes, yes I am,” Jack agreed. “And I know you understand the concepts of military and military escort and back up, so don’t do it again or you’ll be investigating the inside of an Ancient brig.” Immediately, Jack knew he’d gone too far. Daniel got that stubborn look that never boded well. “Besides, I thought you were going to work with those priest guys who brought the ZPM.”

“The Dagans,” Daniel said. “Colonel Everett seemed particularly annoyed by them. He didn’t even allow them to stay in the library they’d found. The idea that they’re a danger to the city is absolutely ridiculous and to disrespect these men and women who have devoted their lives to trying to preserve some part of Ancient culture while at the same time surviving the Wraith…. Jack, are you listening to me?”

Jack grinned. “Nope.” He did love winding Daniel up. “I already agreed with you. Everett was wrong, about the civilians anyway, and all the city workers should go back to work. You don’t need to keep nagging me after I agree.”

Daniel leaned back in his chair. “Are you agreeing just to keep me from nagging?”

“Actually no. I’m not. I’ve seen the light. I’m an enlightened guy.”

Daniel snorted.

“Before you came in here, I had already decided that Dillon went too far.”

“Are you going to put Major Sheppard back in charge?” Daniel asked. Jack had forgotten how the man could cut through all the protective layers and stick a verbal knife in right where it counted.

“I don’t think I can. He’s not qualified for a promotion, the IOC does not seem interested in making concessions as much as they are in consolidating power, and this is not a posting that I can leave a major in charge of.” Jack held up his hand to stop Daniel before he started. “Which is not to say that I wouldn’t back Major Sheppard if it was possible. I would. And I will leave Major Lorne here to try and smooth over some of the rough edges. However, I don’t have supreme cosmic powers, Danny. The IOC is nervous about Sheppard, and I can’t change that.”

“So convince them.”

This time Jack snorted. He wasn’t good with politics on the best of days. If it wasn’t for all his stories of saving the world, senators and IOC members would never even return his calls.

“You have to find someone better, Jack.”

Jack could feel his aggravation rise. “Dillon has done a damn fine job. He’s taken out eight hive ships. Eight. That’s no small feat, Daniel.”

Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and got that digging-in-his-heels look that Jack dreaded. “Did you know that Everett confined Gibbs and Samas to quarters?”

Jack sighed. He could understand that one, even if he would never admit it in front of Daniel. He valued his life too much. “Nope, I didn’t. Am I going to have another formal complaint on my desk tomorrow?”

“I wish.” Daniel’s lips twisted in disgust.

“Excuse me?”

Daniel’s hands flew up as he started gesturing in frustration. “Samas is working on Wraith programming and he claims he can do it anywhere, so he doesn’t mind, and Gibbs insists that Everett is right and there’s too much of a chance for conflict if he’s in the main city.”

“So, your attempts to be a busybody got vetoed?” Jack guessed.

From the glare Daniel leveled his direction, he guessed right.

“Look, Marines love two things, their mother and their gunny. Sometimes they love their dogs.”

Daniel looked bewildered. “And?”

Some days Jack really preferred to talk to Carter. She got this stuff without him having to spell it all out. “And, the first time one of Everett’s Marines made a fuss about having a gunnery sergeant with a snake in his head, one of Gibbs’ Marines was going to try and stand up for his gunny. It wouldn’t have ended well, and in case you haven’t noticed, the city is under siege. It’s not under siege well, and someone should talk to the Wraith about tactics because leaving the Stargate functioning is just poor thinking, but still…” Jack shrugged.

“So everyone else should suffer because Everett’s men have no self-control?” Daniel sounded supremely unamused.

“Daniel… do not go there.”

“Why? Because you don’t want to deal with the fact that they sexually harassed McKay?”

Jack sighed. He was out of practice with Danielese because he had stepped into that mess with both eyes closed. “This is a man who has, more than once, talked about Carter’s womb being suitable for his children. McKay doesn’t get a lot of leeway on the sexual harassment front. I can’t believe he even pressed charges.”

“So, those three should get away with verbally torturing him?” Daniel was starting to transition into that submerged fury that Jack had learned to fear.

“No, I’m just surprised that he noticed them verbally torturing him. Doesn’t he usually ignore all the little people who are below him, like Marines?”

All the anger rushed out of Daniel and he made a face. “True. I think Tony talked him into pressing charges, and I don’t blame him. Even if Rodney didn’t notice, the other scientists watched soldiers target one of them because he wasn’t strong enough to make the military stop. That’s not a precedent we want to set.”

“Of course it’s not.” Jack did wonder how he always ended up fighting with Daniel, even when they were agreeing.

“And it was gay bashing, you know.”

Jack’s mouth fell open. He really hadn’t though Daniel would find that bit out. “Really?”

Daniel nodded. “I visited him in the infirmary today. Rodney said they had some strange notion that he was being too gay. He thought all three were brain damaged from too many hits in training.”

Jack weighed his options. He could leave Daniel in the dark, but if the man found out later, he would find a way to torture Jack, even from the opposite side of the country or even the galaxy. “It might be they had the idea that Rodney was chasing after Sheppard,” Jack confessed.

“Huh.”

Jack studied Daniel. “Huh, what?”

“What do you mean, ‘huh, what’?” Daniel blinked at him with a look of practiced innocence.

“That’s your ‘Huh, I know something’ huh.”

“No it’s not.”

“Yes it is.”

Daniel glared at him. “I don’t have a ‘huh I know something’ huh.”

“Danny, I’ve known you for years. I’ve spend more nights sharing a sleeping bag or a tent or a prison cell with you than I spent in bed with my ex-wife. Yes, you do have a ‘huh, I know something,’ huh, and that was it.” Jack crossed his own arms and leaned back in the chair to really get comfortable while he glared right back. Daniel might be a champion nagger, but he sucked at keeping secrets.

Sure enough, he broke inside three minutes. “Fine,” he blurted out, throwing his hands in the air.

“Fine what?”

Daniel sighed. “Fine, Rodney had a little thing for Sheppard in the Antarctic.” Daniel shrugged like it was all too unimportant to care about, which was Jack’s first hint that it had been a fairly serious crush.

“Aw, crap. I was trying to pretend it was all a figment of Dillon’s imagination.” Jack ran a hand over his face. He didn’t like McKay, so the idea of McKay having a crush on anyone was just… disturbing.

“There is nothing wrong with being gay.”

“No,” Jack said, drawing the word out, “but mooning after an officer is both dangerous to that officer’s career and kind of stupid when, apparently, the officer in question doesn’t notice it.”

“I know you’re not trying to excuse the behavior of those three men.” Daniel was pretty much daring him to say exactly that.

“Nope. I’m not. They’ve destroyed their careers. However, we’re talking about twenty-one year old kids who handled something badly. We’re not talking about violent offenders.”

“You’ve been hanging out with politicians and their flexible morals too much.”

“Probably,” Jack agreed with a sigh. Daniel had always been his moral center, and it had occurred to him once or twice that without Daniel’s moral indignation around, Jack tended to make a few too many compromises.

Daniel put his elbow on the desk and rested his chin on his hand. “I’m actually surprised that Rodney still likes him. Usually talking to someone is enough to put Rodney off any crush. I don’t suppose Sheppard has some hidden PhD in engineering or something, does he?”

“What? Why would you think that?”

Daniel shrugged. “Rodney’s turned on by smart.”

Jack eyed Daniel, and when he spoke, his words were low and dangerously soft. “Is there something you need to tell me?” If Rodney put the moves on Daniel, Jack was going to go do some sexual harassing of his own.

Daniel laughed. “Give me a break. I’m an archeologist. For Rodney, that ranks up there with bongo drum player and fortune teller.”

Jack’s brain stuttered a little at the idea of anyone considering Daniel unintelligent.

Apparently Daniel didn’t notice Jack’s mental flailing. “Sheppard must have some serious brains under all that hair to keep Rodney’s attention this long. So, Jack, what are we going to do here?”

Jack grimaced. “We need someone temporary. The IOC is standing on regulation. Sheppard is four classes shy of a master degree in Operational Warfare Concentration, and that would put him in line for a promotion, especially after the field experience here.”

“So, we find someone to keep the seat warm for a couple of months.”

Jack leaned back and felt every vertebrae in his back pop. Daniel said that like it was easy—as if military officers could be shuffled around on a board without any trouble. Sometimes the man was too naïve for Jack to even deal with. “We just need to find someone good enough to keep Atlantis from falling to the Wraith, but someone who is old enough to retire, or at the very least give up his command, in four or five months. No, that won’t be hard.”

“You don’t have to be sarcastic.”

Jack didn’t even bother to comment on the irony of Daniel telling him to stop being sarcastic. “Maybe I have someone in mind,” Jack finally admitted, “but I want to talk to Sheppard first. I don’t know that the man is worth all this trouble.”

Daniel smiled. “He is,” he said before standing up. “Talk to the civilians if you don’t believe me.”

“Daniel, if I talk to the civilians, I’m going to start getting suspicious about why they like Sheppard so much,” Jack pointed out. “I’m trusting you on this one.”

Jack was also trusting that Ellis would go along with the plan. Abe had his heart set on one of the new 304 cruisers. Right now he was tentatively slated to take command of the Apollo, but she wouldn’t be ready for six months. It just might work. 

Daniel headed for the door. “I’ll tell John you want to see him,” Daniel said and then he was gone.

This is why Jack hated it when he fucked up. It took a lot of effort to fix things when you made a mess. Well, he’d talk to Sheppard and if Daniel was right that the major deserved the posting, Jack would have to buy Abe Ellis a good bottle of whiskey and start schmoozing some IOC members.

Jack groaned. Aw crap. He had to find somewhere to stash Sheppard, too. He needed Lorne here, and this place wasn’t big enough for two majors. Fixing your own messes really sucked.


	17. O'Neill's big plan

John stopped outside General O’Neill’s temporary offices and took a deep breath. He knew full well that he hadn’t made a good first impression on the man, and he doubted Everett’s reports were one bit better. Hell, John’s own reports had probably damned him. He’d shot his new commanding officer less than a week into the mission. The Air Force tended to frown on that.

He just wished he had been able to say more than a few brief words to McKay before Jackson had come for him, not that he could say much to McKay under the watchful eyes of Everett’s guards in the infirmary. Hopefully Rodney understood.

Hopefully he would have time to say goodbye before he got bounced back to Earth and probably bounced out of the Air Force. Then again, maybe they’d demote him to captain and shove him in a lab to play light switch at Area 51. 

Well he wasn’t one for prolonging the pain. John put on his cockiest grin and knocked at the door, using his mental control over the door to keep it closed until he felt the mental pressure of O’Neill trying to open it. Then he pulled his control back and allowed the door to come open.

“Reporting as requested, sir,” John said. He knew he sounded insolent, but he couldn’t get control of his emotions, and he’d rather annoy his superiors than allow them to see that their games bothered him. General O’Neill looked up from his computer. The man leaned back and studied John long enough to make John uncomfortable. However, he went to parade rest and refused to react.

“Sheppard, you surprise me,” O’Neill finally said.

That was not what John expected. “Sir?”

“When we met in that helicopter, I put you down as one cold son of a bitch. I never thought you'd be the one to talk a geek off a cliff.”

John felt a flash of panic. If O’Neill wanted to talk about Rodney, this conversation could get very ugly. “Is anyone going to hold this against Rodney? Sir, his blood work--”

O’Neill waved his hand dismissively. “Carson has already made the case for stimulant poisoning. He wasn't rational at the time, and knowing McKay, it's going to kill him that he was out of control. He surprised me too.”

“Sir?” O’Neill was strange enough that John was finding that all his experience with commanding officers was failing him. He just didn’t know where O’Neill was going.

“McKay never really cared about people, so putting his neck on the line for his department isn't in character.”

John took a deep breath and tried to tame his temper. “Sir, maybe you don't know him as well as you think. McKay puts his neck on the line every day. His people know that, which is why they're fanatically loyal.”

O’Neill leaned forward with a satisfied smirk, as though he’d just scored a point, but John didn’t know what game they were playing. “Is that your secret?” O’Neill asked.

“Sir?”

O’Neill stood up, and John fought an urge to get closer to the exit. The man had a predatory air about him. Suddenly John understood why the Dagans whispered that he was another ancient. O’Neill stopped at a window and looked out over the ocean. “A lot of these people are more interested in your orders than in Colonel Everett's. He has expressed some concern about that,” O’Neill finally said.

John blew out a long breath. He’d expected this, so he felt like he’d suddenly found some solid ground under his feet. “Sir, in Pegasus, when a leader changes or a group changes traders, the people involved renegotiate everything. Teyla spent years going out on trading missions with her father so that when she took over, she wouldn't have to renegotiate every single deal but could continue her father's agreements. These people have only known me and Dr. Weir.”

“And these stories about how you're a de-ascended Ancient.” O’Neill kept watching the ocean, but John wasn’t stupid enough to think that he wasn’t paying attention.

“I am not proud of this, but DiNozzo and McKay made that up. We found a ZPM on Dagas, but they were religiously attached to the idea of turning it over to an Ancient.”

O’Neill turned and gave him a wry grin. “And people are dangerous when religion gets involved.”

Something in his chest loosed a little. “Yes, sir, they are.”

“So, no burning desire to build your own fiefdom?”

“No, sir. Part of me doesn't even want to allow the Dagans to stay because they're just creepy.”

O’Neill laughed. “Religious people often are, and do not tell Daniel I said that,” he finished with a fierce glare.

“Of course not, sir. I do understand the danger of pissing off the geeks.”

O’Neill grunted and turned back to the ocean view. Sheppard suddenly realized that O’Neill hadn’t decided what to do with him, which implied that John wasn’t necessarily screwed. He just had to convince O’Neill that he wasn’t trying to build his own kingdom or two seconds away from full mutiny. John mentally cursed Weir’s rebellion.

“Sir,” John said, tense but willing to take a risk to save his job.

O’Neill looked over at him.

“The Dagans are calling you Shepherd the Elder,” he said.

“They think I’m your father?” O’Neill sounded offended.

“No, sir. Shepherd, as in someone who tends sheep, is their term for an Ancient. The fact that my name is Sheppard is just bad luck.”

“So, someone told them I have the gene too.” O’Neill frowned. “Do they have religious objections to the people who have the artificial gene?”

“No sir. They’re quite fond of McKay, and honestly, very few of our allies are. The Hoff adore him, and the Genii respect that he’s brilliant, but most of the others have trouble even tolerating him in large doses, and that includes the Athosians who like everyone.”

“Be grateful,” O’Neill said, and John had a flash of confusion before O’Neill continued. “I got the popular geek, and half the time, aliens were trying to kidnap him or marry him… or both. It was really annoying.”

“Yes, sir.”

“When I first asked if you wanted to come, you didn’t seem very interested in saving the world.” O’Neill didn’t ask a question, but Sheppard knew that this was the turning point. Either he convinced O’Neill to back him or he had a future as Captain Light Switch at Area 51.

“I’d tried saving the world. It didn’t end well for anyone,” John pointed out.

O’Neill grimaced. “You shouldn’t have disobeyed direct orders.”

John refused to answer. He’d burn in hell before he’d agree with that, no matter what O’Neill said.

“Usually I make sure the communication equipment is broken before I go haring off,” he said. “And when I do go against direct orders, I report back to a commanding officer other than the one who gave me stupid orders.”

Shock robbed John of any ability to answer for what felt like several minutes. “That wasn’t easy in Afghanistan,” he eventually said. Had a general just given him suggestions on how to be more insubordinate?

O’Neill sighed. “Probably not. But your record makes this difficult. The IOC only sees what’s on paper, and on paper, you’re a bad risk. However, Elizabeth is trying to push through a promotion. She's suggesting that this wouldn't have happened on your watch.”

O’Neill came closer and sat on the edge of his desk, watching John with a sharp gaze. “No comment on that?” he asked.

“I don't know what to say, sir.”

“Start with the truth. Would this have happened on your watch?”

John didn’t know what O’Neill was looking for, so he went with the truth. “No, sir.”

“Why not?”

“I would have listened to the departments before making changes,” John said. He watched O’Neill for some sort of reaction, but the general had one hell of a poker face. “I might have moved children and the elderly into the central barracks or at the very least made it clear that my men could only provide protection for those in that area, but I would not have made it mandatory or placed guards outside the doors to keep people in.”

“And McKay's little coup?”

John felt another flash of fear. O’Neill and Rodney had their own past, and John didn’t want to be used as weapon against Rodney. John accepted that he might lose the city, but he wouldn’t let the Air Force kick Rodney out of Atlantis. “He's always been high-strung. Teyla and I take turns making sure he gets out of his lab every once in a while and eats something. Once he's out of the lab, he's more aware of his need for sleep. However, Teyla was under orders to stay out of the lab, and I had too many duties to get down there regularly. Radek and Samas step in if Rodney is in danger of getting too off-keel, but Samas was confined to quarters and Radek went on strike with the others. There are a lot of people here to support Rodney, and nothing like this every happened until every single one of those people were systematically stripped away.”

O’Neill nodded without commenting on John’s report. “How about the battle plans. Would you have changed anything there?”

“No, sir. Colonel Everett is one hell of a good tactical officer, and I have learned a lot watching him work.”

“A good tactical officer?” he asked. John tried to keep his gaze focused on the wall. Yep, Everett was a good tactical officer—damn good—but John wasn’t going to go farther and call him a good officer, not by a long shot. Scuttlebutt had it that O’Neill and Everett were friends, and John waited for the fallout. If he had any good sense, he’d learn to play politics and suck up, but he was too damn old to learn new tricks now.

“McKay sent back reports calling the use of Asgard beaming technology proof that Colonel Everett didn’t have two active brain cells left that could still send signals to each other.”

John flinched. “To be fair, he’s said things like that about me more than once,” John pointed out. “And he had a point about using the beaming technology within sensor range of the other ships. The other Wraith were able to adapt their shields to compensate.”

“So, would you have held that tactic in reserve?”

“No sir,” John said. “Colonel Everett was right that this was the chance to take out the greatest number of hives before they had a chance to adapt to the technology. Colonel Everett and Colonel Caldwell have taken out more hives than I could have hoped for.”

“But now you want to go for a bluff over a direct fight,” O’Neill said.

John was surprised. Everett had vetoed the plan, so he hadn’t thought the recommendation had made it up to the general. “Yes, sir,” he agreed.

“Colonel Everett is afraid that will give the enemy time to regroup.”

“I doubt the enemy will regroup if they think they’ve killed us.”

O’Neill shrugged. “Maybe. You think they’ll just go wandering on their way?”

“I think they’re used to thinking of humans as cows, and they’re not going to question the fact that they brought their cows back under control. They expect to win. But if we keep fighting directly, our ZPM will fail eventually. This city is 10,000 years old, and McKay can’t hold everything together with duct tape and prayer forever, especially since he’s an atheist.”

“Has McKay told you that?”

“McKay is convinced his brain can do anything,” John pointed out. “But I don’t think he would have lost it if he wasn’t worried. He can’t keep the city together when the Ancients couldn’t figure out that same problem.”

O’Neill nodded.

“None of this is going to save my job on Atlantis, is it?” John came right out and asked. It was the only question that mattered, and O’Neill was being friendly enough that he thought he might get an honest answer.

“Nope,” O’Neill agreed. “I doubt I can even leave you here as a junior officer. The IOC would wonder if you were playing politics behind their back.”

“Sir, I wouldn’t do that.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” O’Neill said, “but politicians tend to assume the worst. It’s part of being soul-sucking sons of bitches. They assume everyone else is as empty and pathetic as they are.”

John had to focus on keeping his mouth closed because it definitely was about to fall open. Generals didn’t talk like that. True, John hadn’t known a lot of generals, but this couldn’t be normal. 

“However, if you walk away and play nice until you can get your classes done at the War College and qualify for a standard promotion, we might be able to get you back here. It depends on whether you can convince the IOC that you know how to play nicely with others.”

“I’ve never been exactly good at playing nice,” Sheppard warned the general. To demonstrate, he immediately slouched and leaned one hip against a chair.

O’Neill laughed. “Funny, that’s what I said too. Then they made me a general. Watch it. If you aren’t careful, they’ll make you Secretary of the Air Force.”

“I doubt that, sir.”

“Yeah, well I’m supposed to be fishing in Minnesota, and you can see how well that worked for me. The plan right now is to try and recruit Colonel Ellis for Atlantis. That gives us a five to six month window before he’s going to request a transfer out because the Apollo will be finished. That means for five to six months, you’re going to play by the book and smile at every politician you meet.”

“Sir?” John was starting to feel a little panicked.

“Congratulations, Major Sheppard. You’ve just been promoted to my personal staff. Pack your stuff because we’re out of here as soon as we see if this bluff of yours works. Either that or we’ll all get blown up, and this will be the shortest reassignment in the history of the Air Force.” O’Neill still had a manic smile on his face as he strolled out of the room. The man even started whistling. 

John had been reassigned to a madman.

John was losing Atlantis.

Even though he knew it had been coming, and even though O’Neill had held out a small hope that he might return, John could still feel the loss like a kick in the guts.

“Get the lead out Sheppard!” O’Neill bellowed.

“Coming, sir.” John trotted to catch up with his new commanding officer. If he wanted to get back to Atlantis, he didn’t have any other choice.

 


	18. O'Neill and Gibbs in the same room... rarely good.

Gibbs watched Samas slide along the Wraith control panel. The visual information seemed to be supplemented with an olfactory control system that Samas could only access from outside Gibbs’ body. Samas reared up, all four mouth parts opening wide as he swung toward the main controls. Gibbs reached out and moved the display to the next set of numbers.

“This is not exactly exciting work,” Gibbs complained. Samas coiled up on the pads that seemed to function as both control and scent display. It made a sort of sense that Wraith could smell through their hands since they ate through them.

“You can help me with my paperwork,” Tony said. Groaning, he stood up from his desk. They’d claimed one of the largest personal quarters with both a main room and a separate bedroom, but they’d managed to fill the front space with a strange assortment of office supplies and alien technology. “Next time I decide to declare war on the Marine Corps, do you think maybe you could warn me that they’re vindictive bastards?”

“Nope,” Gibbs said. He understood why Tony had reported those three, but if it had been Gibbs’ decision, he would have dragged them to training and then he and Teyla could have tag teamed them until they understood to show respect for everyone on the mission. Hell, he might have asked Rodney to plan a mock emergency for the training levels. Then the idiots would have gotten it through their heads that they needed Rodney a hell of a lot more than Rodney needed them.

“Still pissed?” Tony asked.

Gibbs sighed. “You and Samas are playing a dangerous game.”

“I’m pretty sure that Weir and Radek are right there with us,” Tony pointed out. With a sigh he came over and dropped into the chair next to Gibbs. “Everett is being an ass.”

“He’s being a Marine.”

“You’re a Marine, and you’ve never treated Teyla like a civilian.”

Gibbs sighed and leaned back. For a second, Samas paused and swung his head around, his jaws snapping as he tasted the air, but then he went back to his work. “I didn’t walk into a siege situation.”

“So, if you had come with Everett, would you make these same decisions?”

“No,” Gibbs admitted. “But I’ve been a civilian longer than I’ve been a Marine.”

“I guess it doesn’t matter now. Rumor says that O’Neill is pulling Everett.”

Gibbs nodded. He hoped whoever they got next could handle Atlantis a little better. Samas had taught him to see the concept of war a little differently, but Everett still thought in terms of front lines and defended positions. Samas had watched his children dragged out and executed, even when they were in the most closely defended spaces on the damn planet, so Gibbs understood the illusion of safety.

Tony reached for Samas’ tail, only to have Samas flip it away at the last second. Leave it to Tony to tease the five thousand year old queen who had terrorized entire civilizations. He reached for his tail a second time, and this time Samas flipped around and snapped his jaws shut millimeters from Tony’s finger. If Tony hadn’t jerked it back fast enough, he would have lost it.

“He’s not going to feel bad about maiming you,” Gibbs warned.

Tony grinned. “Aw, boss, don’t you trust me to move fast enough?” Tony looked down, and Samas had his head tilted to the side so he could watch Tony. Only Tony would manage to get an onac to play hooky and start horseplaying in the middle of the day. It was a talent. Some days Gibbs ached for the days when Tony and Kate would have wars across their desks. Then they’d both drag Abby in, and like a good mercenary, she would provide both sides with ammunition and then stand back and watch the pranks get truly out of hand. He was pretty sure that Kate hadn’t engaged in that sort of teasing during her time at the Secret Service.

“He’s getting a little fat, isn’t he?” Tony went for the tail again, and this time he didn’t move quite fast enough. “Ow!” A line of red like a long papercut opened on his finger, and Tony stuck his finger in his mouth. “You’re a mean onac,” Tony said around his finger. He poked his left hand in Samas’ direction, and Samas clacked his jaws again.

“If he was going to nest, he’d create an egg sac that hung from his lower body and allowed him to lay a lot more eggs at once. But even though he’s intentionally avoiding that, laying eggs is going to cause him to get larger as he manages the additional genetic data.”

Tony hummed. He wasn’t stupid. He was going to figure out what Gibbs already knew. Samas only had another ten or twenty years before he was too large to use a host. It made Samas a little desperate to get the city settled fast. Gibbs just worried that the desperation was going to lead to bad decisions. He still didn’t approve of Weir’s direct confrontation with Everett.

The door chimed, and Tony stood up. “It’s probably Radek,” he said as he headed to the door. Tony opened it, and O’Neill stood there. Gibbs vacillated. He was technically in this man’s command now, and part of him said he should stand and offer a salute. He played the military game with other officers; however, O’Neill knew the whole truth, including the fact that he and Tony were exiles because of Samas, so he just crossed his arms.

“DiNozzo, Gunny,” O’Neill said, greeting them.

“General Backstabber. Welcome to Atlantis,” Tony said with a grin.

O’Neill took a second to glare at Tony wearily. “Every time I forget why I dislike you, you remind me,” O’Neill said as he passed Tony and came into the room. “So, I hear you have Samas working on reverse engineering the Wraith controls.”

“Yep,” Gibbs answered.

O’Neill stopped and sighed. “You could make this easier for us.”

“No, I couldn’t,” Gibbs answered.

“Hey, I found you a nice city with no IOC members sitting around plotting your death and/or vivisection,” O’Neill said as he took the chair Tony had just left and turned it around before straddling it. “I was hoping we could talk privately.”

Tony harrumphed. “I think that was my invitation to get lost.”

“And take Samas with you,” O’Neill agreed. Curled up against the Wraith technology, Samas almost vanished. So when Gibbs looked down at Samas and O’Neill followed his gaze, O’Neill must not have immediately noticed him. At least that’s what Gibbs assumed because three seconds later, O’Neill flailed, stumbled back away from the console and managed to both trip on and kick the chair during his retreat. “Aw crap. Warn a guy.”

Tony pushed past O’Neill and reached his hand out for Samas. Coiling up, Samas ignored Tony’s hand and launched himself at Tony’s face. Tony flinched back. “I hate it when you do that. You can’t actually fly, you know,” he complained. But Samas had hooked his main teeth into Tony’s shirt, and he flipped his body up around Tony’s neck before settling in. “Bite my ear again, and I’m going to bite you back,” Tony warned as he headed out the door.

O’Neill stood in the middle of the room near the chair that was on its side. “Okay, I did not see that one coming.”

“The Wraith controls have a visual language and a chemical scent that seems to offer either more information or a more nuanced understanding of the words on the display,” Gibbs said.

“Right.” O’Neill picked up the chair, but when he set it down, he was several feet farther away. “So he curls up on it?”

“He knows what it says, and now he’s trying to understand the chemicals.”

“Great. Fun.” O’Neill gave a shiver. “And you never once thought about running like hell once he’s out?”

“No.” 

O’Neill grunted. They shared an awkward moment before O’Neill changed the subject. “So, the cloak worked.”

“It was a good plan. I knew it would,” Gibbs agreed. He didn’t need to point out that Sheppard and McKay had come up with the plan and Everett had vetoed it. O’Neill knew all that.

“I’m taking Sheppard back with me.”

Gibbs grunted. He didn’t like it, but he did understand that the IOC wouldn’t leave Sheppard in charge and the man was not going to do well under a Marine commander. 

“So….” O’Neill drew the word out and then looked at Gibbs expectantly.

Gibbs was enjoying this. He looked right at O’Neill and waited for him to man up and just ask the damn question.

O’Neill rolled his eyes. “Do they take your sense of subtly away in Marine school?”

“Yes.”

“You know, that would explain a lot of things. Fine, give me a sitrep on Sheppard. I want him back here inside six months, but what kind of resources is he going to need?”

Gibbs uncrossed his arms and gave that some thought. More often than not, Sheppard didn’t trust himself. But then he’d go off on wild chases where he wouldn’t trust anyone else. Well, maybe McKay, but McKay’s judgment wasn’t the best. Bates hadn’t helped with the number of times he’d gone head to head against Sheppard, but Gibbs had noticed that lately Bates had been more open to Sheppard and increasingly annoyed by Everett’s rules. The man was smart enough to understand that Everett was fucking up.

“He needs a strong second, someone he can learn to trust,” Gibbs said. “Ford was young and Bates didn’t approve of his non-traditional command.”

“Ford. He’s the one who went MIA after getting overdosed, right?”

“Yeah. He was a good kid,” Gibbs said. “Sheppard took it hard when he lost him.”

O’Neill rubbed a hand over his face. “That kid wasn’t anywhere near ready to be anyone’s XO. How the hell did you lose so many officers in the first attack?”

“Because they tried to fight the Wraith the way you would the goa’uld,” Gibbs said. “They entrenched positions and returned fire. The only reason I survived is because Everett wouldn’t take me on the first mission to Athos and when I did go with Sheppard, Samas had a definite preference for hiding first and killing the enemy when they weren’t expecting it.”

“And that’s how you’ve trained the people you had under you.”

“Yep,” Gibbs agreed. “We aren’t the top of the food chain. Literally. The goa’uld could be counted on to be tactically inferior and arrogant. The Wraith are going to be harder to fight, so I teach my guys to be guerillas, not frontline soldiers.”

“When Everett leaves, are you going to be able to integrate the new Marines?”

“Is there any other choice?” As far as Gibbs was concerned, Marines had to adapt. Sure, he agreed with Everett that asking them to adapt in a siege situation wasn’t wise, but sooner or later, Gibbs would start training again. Samas was close to cracking the Wraith coding, and he’d had already sent a large number of technical schematics over to Radek, so the heavy work of reverse engineering the darts was over.

“Atlantis has a fully charged ZPM and Earth has one with enough of a charge to make regular trips,” O’Neill pointed out.

“So they can run home with their tails between their legs?” Gibbs laughed. “You don’t know Marines very well, O’Neill.”

“You don’t know how deep the hatred of snakeheads runs in the SGC.”

“Marines adapt. I was ordered to work with warlords and murders, and I dealt with it. My Marines will make sure the new people understand that Samas isn’t either of those.”

O’Neill narrowed his eyes. “I never thought you’d be the primary Staff NCO on base, gunny.”

He wasn’t. As of right now, Gibbs had three people above him in the ranks, including Bates who was the ranking non-commissioned officer. But O’Neill seemed to be suggesting that things were changing. “What about Bates?”

“He’s requested a transfer back to Earth. His brother was badly injured in a car accident.”

Gibbs took a deep breath. That did change a few things. “I assume we’re getting more NCOs.”

“Sergeants Barroso, Cole, Markham, and Long are all from the US Military side. You’re also getting Major Lorne and two new captains.”

“Are we keeping Stackhouse?”

“Yep. And while Cole’s a Gunnery Sergeant, you have him on time in rank.”

O’Neill was leaving him as the ranking NCO on Atlantis. That shocked the hell out of Gibbs. With a new commander, Major Lorne and two captains in place, Gibbs wouldn’t exactly have free reign; however, officers usually left the NCO to handle the enlisted. “What’s the catch?”

O’Neill stood up and walked over to the window and looked out over the ocean. “Are there any bad views in this city?”

“A few in the lower towers.”

“Huh.”

Gibbs waited for O’Neill to sort his thoughts. If Gibbs had to guess, he would say the politics back home was getting nastier.

“People back home are afraid of losing control of the city. There are a lot of people here who don’t answer to the IOC, or even to Earth.”

“And if you brought in a Master Sergeant, you’re afraid they would answer to the IOC,” Gibbs guessed.

O’Neill shrugged. “Maybe. Lorne is SGC, and I’m going to get Ellis assigned here. Colonel Ellis has his sights set on one of the 304s, so he won’t try and put down roots here.”

“And you’re telling me this?”

O’Neill gave a rough laugh and turned back around to face him. “Gunny, you’re a devious son of a bitch who ran more of NCIS than most people want to admit. I don’t know if it’s in your personality to pull the strings from behind or if that’s Samas, but don’t try and bullshit a bullshit artist.”

Gibbs stood and pushed his chair under his table. “I’m not interested in running anything, not NCIS or Atlantis.”

“No, you’re just interested in having the person you want at the helm.”

Gibbs laughed. “Do you think I wanted Jenny Shepard as my director at NCIS? I have trust issue with that woman that could fill a troop transport. I don’t know why you think I’m pulling the strings here, but I’m not.”

“So, you weren’t in favor of Weir’s conspiracy?”

“Me? No.” Gibbs shook his head. “I think it was a stupid move during a siege. It set the Marines on edge and aggravated the situation.”

“But Samas backed Weir,” O’Neill guessed. The man might play dumb, but he wasn’t.

“Yes, he did.”

“Why? What’s his game?”

“To have Atlantis in the control of people he trusts,” Gibbs said. “Onac could, theoretically, live forever. He doesn’t want that to be another five thousand years of hiding in the shadow because the wrong people won the war.”

O’Neill pounced on that. “Is he worried about the Wraith or the IOC?”

Gibbs didn’t answer. The fact was that Samas was fairly dedicated to keeping both out of the city.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Samas wouldn’t oppose you coming and taking command,” Gibbs pointed out. 

“I’m too old for the game, Gunny.”

“So am I.”

O’Neill grimaced. “You know, more than once I’ve thought that I probably should have minded my own business. If I could do it again, I wouldn’t track you down, Gibbs.”

As much as Gibbs wanted to blame O’Neill, he really couldn’t. “Ba’al and Kali still would have come searching for Samas,” Gibbs said. O’Neill didn’t seem to have an answer for that. For a long time, the silence filled the space between them. Gibbs almost felt like he was back in an interrogation room waiting for a suspect to finally break. He could almost feel the stress fractures in O’Neill’s reticence. 

“Sheppard doesn’t have a nose for politics,” O’Neill finally said, and Gibbs figured they were finally at the meat of their conversation.

“Neither do the two of us.”

O’Neill shrugged. “Maybe not, but we know how to keep track of the skeletons in the closet and make ourselves too damn useful to get rid of. Sheppard can’t play the game. I can leave Lorne here, but if Sheppard is going to turn Atlantis into his equivalent of SG1, he has to make sure that other people can’t take his toys away.”

Gibbs got it. He really did. When men were too attached to leaders, the military tended to move them before unhealthy bonds developed and people did stupid shit like disobey direct orders and fly a helicopter directly into enemy territory. O’Neill had gotten away with having complete control over his team only because no one could replace him. Gibbs had read the reports, and too many allies associated their alliance with O’Neill, not Earth. The IOC and military were going to want to keep Sheppard from doing the same, especially when they had evidence that he was well on his way to making himself even more indispensable. 

“Have you had this conversation with him?” Gibbs asked.

“He’s a baby, Gibbs. He’s not even fully grown yet. Besides, I can’t take a man seriously when he has more cowlicks than he’s had birthdays.”

Gibbs laughed. “He’s a pretty good officer, despite the hair.”

O’Neill grimaced. “When did children take over our military, Gibbs?”

“About the time we got old.”

“Shit. I felt old in Columbia. I’m past old at this point.”

Leaning back against the table, Gibbs watched this man he’d fought with in the field. Colombia had been some damn dirty business, and they’d had each other’s six. Hell, back then Samas was new to him and Gibbs was still half mad with grief after losing Shannon and Kelly, so he wasn’t sure he would have survived the mission without O’Neill. To be honest, he hadn’t intended to come out of the jungle in one piece. Death by mission was a better end than suicide, but it would have left him in a grave just the same.

“Are you going to give Sheppard back to us?”

“I’m going to try,” O’Neill said, which wasn’t the same as a promise.

“Your ears only, not for any report,” Gibbs said. O’Neill immediately focused his attention on the conversation, all those little signs of weariness vanishing in a second. “Samas will only be able to join with a host for another ten or twenty years. He’s getting too old and too large, and that’s a normal part of an onac life cycle. Most onac aren’t taking hosts even this late in life and it’s starting to get uncomfortable.”

“He’s giving up having the freedom to walk around?” O’Neill looked confused.

“He’s going back to being able to swim full time, which is where he wants to be. But he’s worried that if the IOC will hunt him down or that the Wraith will take the city. He wants the city in the hands of the most capable leaders so he can leave without worrying about what stupid thing we’re getting up to. He doesn’t have the highest opinion of human logic, which is why he’s so fond of McKay. They spend a lot of time talking about how much they don’t like people.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“As far as Samas is concerned, McKay is irreplaceable. John Sheppard is equally important, and certain people like Weir and Radek and Carson are only a half-step behind them.”

“Weir is taking second to McKay and Sheppard? She’d love that.”

“Without McKay this place would sink, and all that talk the locals do about Sheppard being an Ancient…?”

O’Neill started to shake his head. “Oh Gunny, not you too.”

“Either the city is talking to him on a subliminal level or he knows things subconscious that he can’t fully remember.”

O’Neill leaned back against the window. “So what? An Ancient got himself born on earth a few decades ago on the off chance we were going to find Atlantis now?”

“Either that or there is more than one Ancient rattling around, and he’s the one who got here first,” Gibbs said. “Don’t talk to the Dagans. They can’t keep their logic separate from their faith. But go ask McKay about it. He’ll make an argument that will have you wondering.”

“If the IOC even suspects that Sheppard is an Ancient, they will lock him in a very small cell under the mountain.”

“Next to the one they had set aside for me?” Gibbs asked.

O’Neill’s absolutely lack of reaction told him what he needed to know. 

“You got me out of there before that happened. Do the same for Sheppard.”

“That means you have to keep telling people that this Ancient story is something you made up to steal a ZPM from a religious cult. The IOC actually likes that story.”

“They would,” Gibbs said dryly. O’Neill’s face mirrored his own disgust. Some days Gibbs figured that politicians were more dangerous than the goa’uld.

O’Neill headed for the door. “Try to avoid letting the geeks kill Ellis when he gets here,” O’Neill asked.

“No promises,” Gibbs answered. Ellis would have to prove himself, the same as Everett and Sheppard had. Of course, only one had managed to make a good impression on the Pegasus natives, but Gibbs was willing to give this new commander a fair shake.

O’Neill rolled his eyes and headed out the door.


	19. Back on Earth

John was trying hard to avoid fidgeting. From the amused looked General O’Neill kept giving him, he wasn’t succeeding. “I don’t know how you can be excited to see McKay.”

“Maybe it’s not McKay,” John said defensively. He didn’t need O’Neill to start wondering about their relationship, even if John was starting to suspect that O’Neill and Daniel Jackson were a little closer than regulations allowed.

“So, you have a thing for Weir?” O’Neill looked up from a report to give John a look that just dared him to suggest that.

“Aren’t you supposed to brief Dr. Weir on the new funding restrictions?” John asked, glancing down at the folder.

“You hit below the belt, Major,” O’Neill said with a grimace. He looked back down at his files.

“McKay put his own life on the line for the expedition, sir.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“And as much as going through the Stargate scared him, he went, every damn time. He saved my life and the lives of my team more often than I can count.”

O’Neill looked up at him again. “And he tried to leave Teal’c behind.”

“He really thought that Carter’s override of the security protocols had already killed him.” John hated that Rodney seemed to catch all the blame for the event. Hell, Teal’c was the only one who hadn’t made a shitty comment about that day. “And he paid for that. Sending him to Siberia…” John stopped. He should probably avoid telling his superior officer that he’d made a dick move.

O’Neill grunted. “You never met McKay before he had some of his arrogance knocked off.”

“I never… what?”

“Trust me – the McKay you see now is the lite and fluffy version. McKay version 1.0 was enough of an asshole that you would have found a way to shoot him. He might have changed, but I’m not about to forget some of the shit he pulled the first time around, and I’m enough of a bastard that I don’t forgive easily.”

“He’s earned better.”

“From you? Probably. Luckily I don’t have to work with the man, so my hatred doesn’t affect him.”

John wasn’t sure he agreed with that assessment. Rodney always claimed that he didn’t care what people thought, and that was true when he didn’t respect people. If people were idiots, they were so far below Rodney’s radar that he didn’t notice them. However, Rodney knew how much good SG1 had done, and other than a weird hatred for Carter’s ability to be socially apt, he respected them. Actually, he respected Carter, too, he just had a horrible way of showing it.

“Rodney just doesn’t notice people. Until he meets them, it’s like they aren’t quite real. He can’t feel bad about the death of someone he doesn’t know and he doesn’t know anything about. You brought him into a situation and asked for technical answers. He didn’t have any other context.”

“I think you just described him as a sociopath.”

John almost laughed. He’d had enough people accuse him of that particular sin that the irony was nearly overwhelming. John had a soldier’s ability to compartmentalize. If he killed soldiers, he could easily put that into a small part of his mind and forget it. Their souls would have to move onto whatever came after, but he wasn’t going to feel guilty about destroying their bodies. “I described a man who has an inability to understand people in general. It’s like you have a colorblind soldier, and you keep yelling at him to open the red door. And then you hate him for opening the green one and getting someone nearly killed.”

“Are you going to keep this up until I start worshiping at the altar of Rodney McKay?” O’Neill was starting to sound cranky.

“No, but I would appreciate it if you backed off the nasty comments. He does know you, and whether he’s willing to admit it or show it, he respects your opinion. It bothers him when you rip into him.”

“Ya know, when I was a major, I actually respected generals.”

“I respect the hell out of you, sir, but if you make McKay miserable this visit, your paperwork is going to end up filed under all the profanity I won’t say to your face.”

“So my expense reports will be under ‘asshole’?”

“Maybe,” John admitted, although he could think of much more creative terms than asshole.

O’Neill gave a rough laugh and shook his head. “You really aren’t anything like that pilot I met in Antarctic.”

“No, I’m more like the pilot in Afghanistan who risked his life to save his men and promptly got court-martialed for his trouble.”

That made O’Neill grimace. “Yeah, well you’ve got to learn to play the game better Sheppard. You need the right people watching your career, and then it’s harder for the real assholes to hang you out to dry.”

“Yes, sir. I haven’t snapped off the head of a congressman yet.”

“And I appreciate that. It’s hard to hide the bodies when you kill elected officials.” O’Neill sounded almost sympathetic. He should feel bad, he was the one who had forced John to play host to all the politicians who wanted personal tours through the mission reports. John understood that his main job was to keep these people away from the general, but he didn’t have to like it.

“If you make me take Congressman Swenson on another tour of Area 51, I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”

“He’s not half as bad as Kinsey was,” O’Neill pointed out. “And Swenson is a major player behind the scenes. If he knows your name, it’s going to be harder for anyone to move against you. The next time someone goes to him and whispers that you’re trying to set yourself up as a god out there, Craig is going to start laughing in their face.”

“Yes, sir.” John hated it, but he did understand why O’Neill was constantly throwing him to the political wolves. “I still reserve the right to hate this shit, though.”

“Oh, you hate away, major. I hated it when General Hammond made me play nice, so I figure that’s a fair turnaround. Besides, if you want to get back to your people, you need this.”

His people. John knew all too well that not all his people were there for him to go home to. “Has there been any word on Ford?”

“Sheppard, you read all the damn Atlantis reports before I get my hands on them, so if you don’t know, I don’t know.”

“I would never read your mail, General.” John tried to keep a straight face.

“If I thought that was true for even one second, I wouldn’t be fighting to get you back there,” O’Neill pointed out. 

“Are you encouraging me to break the rules?”

“I’m encouraging you to avoid getting caught breaking the unimportant rules. You and I both know that Atlantis is your command.”

John was hit with a flash of gratitude that nearly took his breath away. Atlantis was his, and hearing the general say that made him think that maybe he would get his city and his people back. “Thank you, sir.”

“I remember how it felt every time I had to give command of SG1 to someone else or loan out Danny.” He groaned. “You have no idea how much trouble Daniel got into every single time. That man is a menace. My hair went gray worrying about him every time the general ordered me to let him go play with some science team.”

“I’m sure, sir.”

“At least other teams aren’t always trying to poach your geek.”

“My geek scares them.”

“And that’s probably a good thing. You wouldn’t look good with gray hair.”

John laughed. “Probably not.”

The car pulled up to the outer gate, and they both fell silent as the SGC guards ran the car for security violations. John presented his information as well as the general’s as O’Neill started reading his reports again. It took almost ten minutes for them to clear the car, and then they had another short drive through the forest before they reached the main complex. They had covered about half that distance when O’Neill put his report to one side.

“A piece of advice, Major. When you’re visiting with McKay, I don’t care where you are or how closely you’ve checked the security, act like someone is watching.”

“Are you suggesting—”

“I’m suggesting that people are watching, Major. Don’t give them ammunition. Stick to safe subjects, like a run down on which of these damn complaints is serious and which are frivolous crap generated by Weir’s people in an attempt to get you back. I swear, that woman knows how to use paperwork as a weapon of mass destruction. Try to get a little clarification on some of these.” O’Neill tossed over a very thick file. John caught it out of instinct. He didn’t have to look inside to know what the various complaints were. He’d filed them all as they came into the general’s office, and a few he’d filed into the garbage because he couldn’t even believe some of the stupidity that came out of Kavanagh. 

“We’ll keep it to business, sir,” John promised. At this point, Rodney was going to move on and find a nice female scientist to settle down with and have babies before John got to bring up the subject of their relationship again. While he knew that was ridiculous, there was a piece of him that did honestly worry about that. Miko Kusanagi and Katie Brown both had serious crushes on the man, and oblivious or not, Rodney would notice… eventually. John had just assumed he’d be entrenched inside Rodney’s defenses before that day came. At this point, he was starting to doubt that his luck would hold that well.


	20. Ellis in command

 

Gibbs stood at attention and waited for Colonel Ellis to acknowledge him. While Gibbs understood the necessity of this plan, his stomach churned. If he could stop this without betraying Samas, he would. He understood that Ellis was a dangerously rule-bound commander. He understood that Samas’ plan would likely save more human lives in the long run. However, it was not in his nature to send men out to die.

Hell, he’d betray Samas, only he suspected that Ellis would be fine with a little genocide. He’d already made it clear that he didn’t believe that Samas had any right to live at all, so if the man found Samas’ egg nests all dangling from the underside of Atlantis, he would destroy every last symbiote and still push forward with this damned mission.

“What can I do for you, Gunnery Sergeant?” Ellis finally asked as he looked up from his laptop.

“Sir, I wanted to speak to you about the mission planned for Thursday.”

“Energy readings,” Ellis confirmed, and then he fell silent, his expression making it clear that Gibbs was taking up valuable time that Ellis didn’t have to spare.

“Sir, Samas is very uncomfortable with this mission.”

Ellis immediately stiffened. “Do you have that snake in you right now?”

“No, sir,” Gibbs barked out. He had followed Ellis’ orders to the letter, leaving Samas in the water after every lab shift and having himself scanned to confirm the lack of a symbiote. 

“Send any concerns for the mission in an email, and I will review them,” Ellis said, and he turned back to his computer. Gibbs glanced over at Lorne, but he had a perfectly blank expression. Gibbs had been a Marine for a long time, long before he’d met Samas, and he knew that good officers allowed a certain free flow of information. This office had a terminal case of constipation. Samas was right that Ellis would get people killed eventually.

“Sir, I don’t have specific concerns,” Gibbs said, plowing ahead despite the obvious dismissal. “Samas cannot remember a specific cause for alarm, but he has four to five thousand years of memories to try and sort through. He only knows that he is very alarmed at the readings.”

Ellis made a show out of looking up very slowly. “The potential ZPM readings?”

“The energy is unstable.” Which was an understatement. The goa’uld never had an original idea, and that included naquadria. In the early days of Ra, they had found a conversion plant. The readings from the planet indicated another one on P3M-005. However, the energy readings also suggested that it was at critical mass. Gibbs wanted to say all that. He did. However, Samas was right that it would only delay the inevitable catastrophe that would hit the base if Ellis continued to ignore any advice that didn’t come from human scientists. Even McKay had been demoted from most trusted scientist to scientist most likely to sabotage Ellis over his Sheppard issues, at least in Ellis’ mind.

It meant Ellis trusted Radek and Peter Kavanagh more. Radek was good, but he wasn’t as intuitive with the technology, and Kavanagh never listened to anyone. People accused Rodney of being arrogant and not listening, but he generally did. He complained and argued and bitched, but he listened. And if someone had evidence, he was willing to change his mind. Kavanagh never did.

“That is not your concern, Gunnery Sergeant.”

Always gunnery sergeant, never gunny. The distinction was not lost on Gibbs.

“Sir, Samas has always put the long-term interests of this expedition ahead of all else,” including short-term interests of the same expedition, Gibbs added mentally, “and if he is uncomfortable, there is something he is only half remembering. Please, give him time to work with the readings.”

“He has until next Thursday.”

“Sir—”

“Dismissed!” Ellis snapped. Gibbs came to attention and fought with all the emotions that raged inside him. Samas was right that this human arrogance was going to lead to disaster at some point, but Gibbs couldn’t let this happen.

“Yes, sir,” he said, and he turned and strode out of the room. Damn arrogant son of a bitch. If Gibbs or Samas had indicated even half that concern to Sheppard, he would have cancelled the whole mission and told Rodney to figure out what had Samas’ tail in a knot. Gibbs could almost hear him now. 

They didn’t have to lose good men simply to prove that Ellis was incompetent. He just had to convince someone else to pull the mission and then have that someone else write a scathing report about Ellis’ inflexibility. Weir would probably enjoy writing that report. Gibbs turned toward her office.

Ellis had forced Gibbs to wait for almost ten minutes, but the second Elizabeth saw him, she waved him into her office. “Gibbs. I haven’t seen enough of you lately. How are Tony and Samas?”

“Fine, ma’am. Permission to speak freely?”

She laughed. “Gibbs, I have never known you to be anything but honest. Take a seat. I’ll get us some coffee.” She got up and headed over to the pot while Gibbs settled into a seat. She came back with a large mug that Gibbs was almost sure belonged to Sheppard. She kept it in the same spot with the mugs for McKay and Sergeant Franks who ran base logistics. Ellis didn’t have a cup that lived in her office permanently. “Now, what can I do for you?” she asked as she settled into her seat.

“Samas thinks that the mission to P3M-005 is going to be a disaster.”

Elizabeth’s eyebrows went up. “Okay. Can you tell me why?”

The phrasing was just diplomatic enough to let Gibbs off the hook for any details he didn’t share. He wondered if that was an innate political sense or if she knew more about Samas’ plans than they’d guessed. Certainly Samas approved of her, even if she wasn’t brutal enough for true leadership. Samas understood that people weren’t onac and they needed Elizabeth’s softer touch.

“There is something wrong with those readings.”

“Like what?”

Gibbs shrugged. “Like I told Colonel Ellis, Samas has four or five thousand years of memories to sort through. He isn’t sure. And now that he has to return to the water, that’s slowing the process down.”

Elizabeth leaned forward. “What do you mean?”

Gibbs set his cup on the side of her desk. “Onac don’t have a brain like we do. Their entire nervous system works together, so the spine essentially is a very long brain, with the onac growing longer in order to add more space. However, the brain of a host becomes a sort of working memory or processor for the onac to access those memories more quickly. With Samas limited to working a few hours a day in the lab, he has not been able to sort through his older memories.”

“I see. Have you discussed this issue with Colonel Ellis?”

“Yes, ma’am, both the need for Samas to stay in me for longer periods of time if we’re going to work on complex problems and the need to postpone this particular mission.” Gibbs didn’t miss the coldly calculating expression that crossed her face. 

She knew this was prime material for making political hay, and Gibbs wondered if she would go as far as Samas would to protect their colony, even at the cost of some of their people. Maybe subconsciously, but he didn’t think she had it in her to intentionally condemn men. He counted on that to make her cancel the mission, and after the rest of them figured out what Samas already knew, it would be a nail in the coffin of his career as military leader of Atlantis. It might not lead to immediate dismissal the way Samas’ plan would have, but he trusted Weir to come up with a way to get the man transferred.

She touched her communicator. “Dr. Zelenka?” Sadly, she knew better than to include Rodney. He might be the head of science, but with Ellis turning to Radek and Kavanagh, Rodney didn’t have the political know-how to navigate the waters. Keeping him out of the deep end was the kindest thing for him.

Gibbs couldn’t hear his first response, but the minute Dr. Weir said, “Gibbs is here sharing concerns about the mission to P3M-005,” Gibbs’ radio channel opened.

“Yes, yes. Samas and I have spoken. Power fluctuations are most unusual.”

“Unusual or dangerous?” Elizabeth asked with a frown.

“Is there difference?” Radek demanded, but after a second, he added, “Right now, fluctuations seem more interesting, but we watch so short a time, that we do not know if power will become more unstable.”

“Have you advised Colonel Ellis of this?”

“Yes, yes, yes. I do not want go,” Radek’s grammar was failing and his accent deepening as he got more emotional. “But Kavanagh tells him that we only want to keep the rest from big discovery. We hate Ellis so much we walk away from ZPM. Kavanagh is idiot.” And after that, the Czech curses came out.

“And what did Rodney say?”

“He forbade any of us to go. He said it was stupid to ignore the reading and to ignore Samas who has lived thousands of years longer than the rest of us put together. Ellis told him he did not have authority to change mission rosters.”

Elizabeth rubbed a hand over her face. “Why didn’t anyone bring this to my attention?”

There was a long silence on the other end. “We do not want you to be in difficult position. If we tell you and you let us stay home while they find a ZPM…” Radek’s voice trailed off.

Elizabeth sighed. “I appreciate that you’re trying to protect my position, but protecting this expedition from Earth politics is my job. Next time, you come to me.”

“Tell Rodney this,” Radek suggested. “He is terrified of losing another friend. Samas is as good as exiled, Sheppard is gone, he worries.”

“I know. He worries about all of us, all the time.”

“It is only thing that makes his ego bearable,” Radek said softly.

“I know that too,” Elizabeth answered. She looked up at Gibbs. “I will talk to Ellis, but meanwhile, Ellis has no authorization to order any civilian into the field. You said you didn’t want to go, so consider it an order for you to stay on Atlantis. The same with Rodney. If Ellis wants a scientist on a mission where one of our best scientific brains believes it’s dangerous, he can find a volunteer.”

“Kavanagh will go,” Radek warned.

“Good, they can blow themselves up together.”

Gibbs flinched.

“And that was highly inappropriate,” Elizabeth added. “Gunny, I apologize. I know those are men you trained. I spoke out of frustration and in front of two friends. I will control my temper when I speak to Ellis and I will even avoid calling him a hide-bound Neanderthal.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Gibbs stood. He’d had a lot of bosses, but the fact was that he hadn’t worked for many who truly cared about the people under them. Morrow had. Sadly Jenny had been far more interested in her career and her agendas. But as much as Gibbs had originally dismissed Elizabeth Weir as a political animal, she had a core of steel to her. “Thank you, Dr. Weir.”

She smiled at him. “I’ll take care of this. You go see if you can get some extra time with Samas so you can figure this out.” Gibbs nodded, guilt still gnawing at him. This time he took the tacit dismissal order and left. He’d done what he could to blunt Samas’ work.

Gibbs suffered through another shift with Samas while the pushy queen pointed out that a few deaths would not compare with the many who would die under Ellis in the long run. Samas also pointed out that the naquadria might not explode. There was no way to tell if the energy of the wormhole or jumper would trigger the explosion, but it would be enough that Ellis put people in harm’s way. Samas spent long gleeful minutes imagining Ellis disgraced in front of everyone. When the images of Ellis getting eaten and vomited back up started hitting Gibbs’ brain, he started questioning the distinction between onac and goa’uld.

The day after that, the labs were in chaos as Kavanagh and Rodney by turns screamed at each other and sniped at each other. Rodney called Kavanagh stupid. Kavanagh called Rodney a coward. Rodney pointed out that he’d faced down untold dangers—and he’d used the word untold—while Kavanagh ran away. Kavanagh suggested that Rodney had a crush on Major Sheppard and would do anything to undermine Ellis—the first reasonable leader they’d ever had on Atlantis. Most of the science department got involved, with Rodney the clear winner both in terms of the number of scientists and the average IQ of those on his side.

The following day marked T-minus three days. Gibbs traded training days with Stackhouse and cleared it with Major Lorne to take all the military personnel on the P3M-005 roster. He took them to the mainland and practiced radiation drills, explosion drills, evacuation drills. He had them take turns doing jumper liftoff, and Radek had programmed a nasty simulation that made it feel like the ground was exploding under the jumper. He ran them ragged for nearly six hours. The Pegasus veterans laughed about how the gunny was on his game. The ones from the SGC looked a little like someone had kicked their puppies.

The day after that, Gibbs lay on the cold decking next to Samas’ favorite bit of flooded city. Samas worked on healing a hundred sore and old muscles that were used to having an onac’s support. Tony lay by his side, an arm over Gibbs’ stomach as Gibbs confessed everything. Tony kissed the side of his neck and pointed out that if they were still home, the Atlantis expedition would have walked in blind anyway. Rodney already wanted to hold off and monitor the situation, so if Ellis and Kavanagh pushed their agendas, the responsibility was theirs. They’d had sex slowly, and for the first time, Gibbs had allowed Tony to top him. It would never be his preference, but for that one day, there was something comforting about letting Tony take over.

Wednesday, Gibbs had been so wired that Rodney had kicked him out of the labs and told him to come back when he could step back and let Samas take the lead like a good little host. Gibbs had held up his hands in surrender and retreated. The fact was that his distress was distracting Samas from the coding work. Gibbs had radioed Tony and told him to grab them lunch and bring it down to the flooded section. Samas and Tony had not been able to spend time together with Ellis’ new regulations. Samas wasn’t even allowed in the living quarters or in any areas of the city other than the labs. Hell, Gibbs expected to find an escort outside his quarters any time now. And soon after that, Ellis would realize that Gibbs shared quarters with Tony, and who the hell knew how he was going to react. 

Tony hadn’t even brought the food before Gibbs got a summons to Ellis’ officer, and he had to leave Samas in the waters as he trudged back up to his commanding officer. Gibbs was starting to remember why he’d left the Marines. Hell, he had lost patience with the damn reserves, and yet here he was.

Gibbs knocked, but unlike last time where Ellis seemed intent on ignoring him for as long as possible, Ellis closed his laptop and gestured for Gibbs to come in. Lorne stood to the side, his eyes focused on nothing.

“Reporting as ordered, Colonel.” Gibbs was really fed up with this whole dog and pony show. Regulations were fine, but this was a front line unit, not the parade grounds of D.C.

“At ease, Gunnery Sergeant.”

Gibbs went to parade rest and stared at a spot on the wall. This was going to be bad. Gibbs braced himself for all sorts of stupidity, and since his reenlistment had been less than voluntary, he wasn’t going to have any exit strategy. He wondered briefly if Ellis realized that.

“Were you scheduled for training this week?”

“No, sir.” Gibbs stopped there. He wasn’t going to offer up anything without being asked.

Ellis seemed to need a second to compose himself. “Did you request to trade shifts with Stackhouse?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Would you care to explain yourself, Gunnery Sergeant?”

“I wanted to expose the newest Marines to Pegasus training, sir.”

“Pegasus training? And what exactly would that mean?” Ellis was working up to a real fury, Gibbs could feel it.

“Harder training, different equipment, sir.”

“Different equipment?”

“Jumpers, life sign detectors.”

Ellis leaned forward and gave Gibbs a crocodile smile. “I heard you were using standard Earth equipment like radiation scanners,” he said in a low, dangerous voice.

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs agreed.

Ellis leaned back in his chair. “I’ve known other staff NCO’s like you, Gunny.” He twisted the last word so it came out derisive. “You like to tell people that you’re the ones who work for a living, that officers don’t actually know what they’re doing. You think of yourselves as the ones who are really in charge.”

Gibbs held his tongue through sheer willpower. 

“Maybe you got away with that around Sheppard. Maybe he didn’t recognize the smell of your shit. But you will not try and rule your kingdom around me, Gibbs, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.” Gibbs barked it out just like he’d been trained in boot camp. This was a level of hell.

“I turned down your request for more time because it is a vague and unsubstantiated warning from a potential hostile. However, let me make this clear. I do not explain myself to you, Gunnery Sergeant. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You will not try and warn people about my orders when you do not agree with them, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You will not go and whine like a little girl to civilian leadership when a mission is under military authority, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You are compromised, Gunnery Sergeant. You live with a snake in your head, and that snake has had access long enough to rewrite any part of your memory it wants.”

Gibbs could have pointed out that onac didn’t work that way, but it really wasn’t worth it, and Ellis wouldn’t believe him anyway. 

“You are to keep in mind that you are not part of this command structure. You are here so that you are not on Earth, is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs said, loud and clear. That answered one question—Ellis definitely knew that Gibbs had been involuntarily reactivated. Area 51 had felt like a prison. Antarctica had definitely felt like a prison, but up until this point, Atlantis never had. However, Ellis had just shown him the exact size and shape of his cell. 

“Then you need some time to realize that the rules have changed, Gunny.” Again, his tone twisted the title into something dark and ugly. “Three weeks, report for KP duty. From now on, you are not to have that snake in you again. I will send medical personnel to scan you randomly. I find that snake in you even once, and I will lock you up until it comes out and then cut its head off. Is that clear?” 

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs answered. Shit. He had no way to even tell Samas what had happened. Samas would come back to the flooded lab over and over, and Gibbs simply wouldn’t come back… couldn’t come back. No way would Gibbs risk Samas’ life like that.

“Dismissed,” Ellis snapped.

Gibbs turned and headed out of the office as fast as he could. If he didn’t, he was going to reach across the desk and choke Ellis to death. That would be one way to get rid of the man. Footsteps followed, and Gibbs tightened his hands into fists as he stopped and waited. If Ellis had more to say, he could say it now.

“Gunny.” The word was said like an apology.

Gibbs turned around, and Major Lorne was there with a pained expression.

“Shit, I’m sorry, Gunny.”

“It’s okay, sir. It wasn’t your choice.” Gibbs thought about Lorne’s signature on the changed duty rosters. It wasn’t just that Gibbs had changed shifts with Stackhouse, he had intentionally pulled all the members of that mission into his training group. “I hope this didn’t get you in trouble with the colonel.”

Lorne grimaced. “I feel a little like I threw you under the bus, Gunny. I told him that the sergeants handled the training and unless someone came to me with a specific request, I signed off on the schedules you guys came up with.”

“It was true, sir. That’s not throwing me under the bus.” Gibbs figured Lorne was one of the good ones—that was going to make working under Ellis even harder. It wasn’t that Ellis was bad or evil, he just wanted everything to function by the book. He didn’t have a gut for leadership, and that made him rely on rules. As much as Gibbs loved his rules, he knew there were times when a man had to break them. Who was he kidding? He broke his own rules all the time. Leaders had to have some flexibility in how the reacted to events on the ground.

“Do you still think this mission is trouble?” Lorne asked.

Gibbs nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“How would you minimize the danger?”

Gibbs thought about that. If the wormhole set off the naquadria, the planet would blow up before anyone had time to even get through the event horizon. If the weight of the jumper was going to do it, then they’d all die instantly. The planet might remain stable, or it might be slowly burning from the inside already with chain reactions running through the planet’s naquedah.

“Keep people near the jumpers. Have rear mounted ropes so that if you have to get the jumpers off the surface, you can still pick up people without having to land.”

“You think the very ground is unstable?” Lorne asked. The thought disturbed him.

“The power readings are irregular, not just fluctuating, but almost like they’re threaded through the ground.”

Lorne nodded, “Which could mean buried power lines or the ZPM factory that Ellis is hoping for, but it could also mean old mines.”

Gibbs must have let the surprise show through on his face.

“One of my jobs with Stargate Command was overseeing a mining operation with the unas,” Lorne said. “I do know something about minerals underground. More than that, I’m the one who escorted Tony back to D.C. I’ve met your co-workers, Gunny, and they all had good things to say. I know you’d have my six on any mission, and I will try to get Ellis to assign you to my team. That way you won’t be stuck on KP for the next twenty years.”

“Better KP than a jail cell, sir.”

“O’Neill won’t let that happen,” Lorne said firmly. “Ellis has his orders, and I have mine, Gunny. Worst case scenario, pick a nice planet. I’ll manage to lose you and Tony somehow.”

Gibbs closed his eyes for a second, stunned by the sudden relief. This wasn’t just his life, it was Tony’s life and Samas’. Just knowing that he wasn’t standing alone made up for every shitty thing O’Neill had said, and he’d said plenty. “Thank you, sir,” Gibbs answered. 

“I’d better get back. Hopefully he thinks I’m reaming you out for changing the schedules.” Lorne grinned before he turned and headed back toward Ellis’ office.

As much as Gibbs did appreciate the support, the fact was that the center could not hold. There were too many people trying to grab for power. Ellis had requested more military personnel, which was a given after the scientists had gone on strike during Colonel Everett’s short command. But instead of getting all Marines, he’d ended up with international forces, some of which seemed to make quick friends with civilians like the Hoff. Elizabeth was furious over her inability to get Sheppard promoted, and the labs were in turmoil as Rodney’s brilliance and title were constantly undermined by Ellis’ support for Kavanagh. Allies like the Genii were beginning to chafe under the lack of information coming out of the city, and their oldest allies were furious at Ellis’ tight control over Stargate, which was another conflict between Weir and Ellis that was going to explode eventually.

If the Wraith attacked today, the city would fold in minutes. Gibbs prayed that Samas was right that this plan would prevent that.

 

 

 

 

“Major Sheppard.” General O’Neill stuck his head out of his office when he could have just used the intercom. 

“Sir?”

“Where are you on that Air War College coursework?”

John glanced down at the motorcycle magazine he’d been looking at and shoved it farther under the desk. “Almost halfway through Joint Planning, sir.”

“Is that your last one?”

“I just started the Practice of Command class, sir. That will be the last one.” John never had a commanding officer take quite so much interest in his life. Then again, he’d never been stuck within fifty feet of his officer twenty-four, seven. With O’Neill insisting that John take his spare bedroom, John pretty much felt like he was living in the general’s pocket.

“All off-world missions out of Atlantis have been cancelled. The IOC is having a review in two weeks, you have exactly fifteen days to get all coursework done, Major. Got it?”

John’s stomach knotted. Off-world missions had been cancelled. That meant something huge had happened. He looked up at O’Neill, ignoring the general’s question. “Who?” he asked, his voice embarrassingly weak and trembling.

O’Neill moved to a spot just in front of John’s desk. “Privates Cooper and Yin. Airman Giffords.”

John closed his eyes and fought with the emotions that threatened to rise up his throat and make him vomit on his desk. He clenched his fists and his whole body flushed with heat until John felt like he might burst out of his own skin. Giffords was a goddamn baby, barely twenty-two. Private Cooper had been one of Everett’s, and he’d stood in the infirmary all fucking day, unwilling to abandon his colonel. And Yin. John thought about the tall woman with black hair and a mean right hook. She’d been determined to take Teyla out in a fight one day. He remembered how Teyla had smiled and said she looked forward to that day, but the day would never come now.

“It could have been a lot worse,” O’Neill offered. The words were hollow. “Most of the people on the mission made it back with minor injuries. Elizabeth, Zelenka, McKay and Gibbs all tried to stop the mission, and Ellis pushed it through over their very vocal and very on-the-record objections.”

Which explained why John had to get the War College classes done--O’Neill was going to try to push through a promotion. John forced himself to take several breaths and open his eyes. “I’ll finish the Joint Planning this week sir. I don’t know if I can get through Practice of Command work fast enough, but I’ll try.”

O’Neill nodded. “I’ll have Carter set up one of those speaking through the computers using camera things. She can talk you through a lot of it.”

“Yes sir.”

“Oh, and you know how you unplugged the phone from the wall?”

John blushed. “Sir, the same people call and get the same answer, over and over. Important stuff comes through email.” He gestured toward the computer.

“Don’t plug it in again for the next two weeks, Major” O’Neill said. “We’re getting you back on Atlantis, and I’m going to lose the second best assistant I ever had.” O’Neill turned and headed back into his office, the door slamming hard.

Forcing himself to his feet, John went over and locked the main entrance. Only then did he let himself slide down to the floor as he started to shake. Yin and Giffords had been his. His. John’s chest felt like it might burst, and he put his head on his knees and let himself truly fall apart, at least for a little while.


	21. The fallout of Ellis' bad call

This is the first chapter that actually follows the incident where Ellis insisted on sending a team to investigate the planet that Gibbs, Samas, Rodney, and Elizabeth all tried to stop him from investigating. Three people died, and now Ellis is under investigation.

 

 

 

“Jessica Yin had a good heart and a steady hand. The day would have come that she could have bested me while sparring,” Teyla raised her cup and solemnly said, “We remember.” The small group gathered on the east pier all drank to the memory. Tony ran his hand over Gibbs’ leg, but Tony knew that Gibbs had to work through his own guilt.

“I should have done more to stop Ellis,” Lorne said mournfully as he stared down at the strange drink Teyla had shown up with. Apparently, this was the after-memorial group therapy party the Athosians had when they lost their own to violence. Tony approved. It beat the hell out of everyone going to their own quarters and throwing a private pity party with a bottle of Radek’s moonshine.

“I should have gotten Samas to work harder on the energy signals,” Gibbs said, which was as close as he would ever come to a confession.

“We all have done our best. Nothing more can be asked of any of us,” Teyla proclaimed in that tone of voice that meant that the next person to feel guilty was going to get hit with her sticks. “We come to remember them and honor their lives. Jessica Yin pleased me greatly.”

“Private Cooper was the most loyal son of a bitch I ever met,” Lorne said, his voice cracking near the end. He’d died in Lorne’s arms. Radek leaned over and gave Lorne an awkward pat on the leg.

Rodney was making a wheezing sound he insisted had everything to do with hay fever and nothing at all to do with any ridiculous emotion. Despite the fact they were in the middle of an ocean, no one called him on it. “Dr. Coleman wouldn’t have made it back to the jumper without him,” Rodney offered. “She’s almost not stupid and we need her.” Sometimes Tony wondered who had hurt him so badly that he had to hide every pain under layers of sarcasm and logic. 

Teyla recognized the meaning behind Rodney’s words and lifted her cup. “We remember,” she finished, and the rest of them drank while Rodney stared at his cup.

Samas spoke next, his voice softer and more lilting than Gibbs’. It was as if the longer they were out here, the less Samas felt the need to hide himself in his host. “Jessica Yin would often ask to spar, and would ask to listen to stories of the enemies I have devoured. She never attempted to judge me by the standards of the humans. I will miss her greatly, and she was worthy of many children.”

“We remember,” Tony said softly. He wondered if the others even recognized the honor Samas had just paid to the woman.

“We remember,” Teyla echoed him.

Radek spoke up. “Eric Giffords was a ridiculous man who laughed so much it was hard to not also laugh in his presence. He was a menace when I wanted a nice quiet test flight in the jumpers.”

Tony laughed as he remembered Giffords doing barrel rolls over the west pier. “I was almost sure I could hear you screaming from my balcony,” Tony offered.

“We remember,” Lorne said, lifting his cup. After that, there was a silence for some time. Teyla sat and stared out over the water. Radek was near Lorne with Rodney on his other side, and Tony lay with his head on Gibbs’ thigh. The group felt too damn small. Ford wasn’t here to add his puppyish energy to everything, and Tony was too tired to play the clown. And Sheppard had left a hole the size of Manhattan. Even the city seemed dimmer without him. If the IOC didn’t send Sheppard back, Tony was going to go back to Earth and kick some ass. Or more likely, he was going to hold someone down while Weir kicked some ass, and she would. The woman was nearing a breaking point with her frustration.

When Gibbs, Samas, Weir, Teyla and Ladim had staged that little coup against Everett in the form of a memorial service, Tony thought he’d seen the woman at her scary best. He’d been wrong. If she got any angrier, she was going to resort to poison, and Samas was going to help her.

“We’ve lost too many,” Lorne said quietly. He might be new, but he sounded like he felt every loss.

“People rarely grow old,” Teyla agreed softly. She was neither angry nor distressed—it was a simple fact in her world. She looked over at Gibbs. “It is why my people are so taken with the idea that you are so many thousands of years old. It seems almost miraculous to us.”

“Ninety percent of my people die within a few years of being born,” Samas said. “To grow old in my world means that one is very cagey and able to survive.”

“Age brings wisdom,” Teyla agreed.

“It didn’t bring the goa’uld wisdom,” Lorne pointed out. Tony tensed up. He didn’t want to deal with this shit now.

Gibbs’ fingers stroked his hair, soothing him. “It did not because they do not live. They hide in a small corner of a host, terrified. They slowly rot in there, unwilling to risk their own lives and unable to escape their own fear.”

Teyla gave Lorne a wary look. “Fear is a poor companion for any creature. Surely we have met enough humans who can prove that rule as well as the goa’uld.”

“Yes, ma’am, we have,” Lorne agreed after a two second pause. “I didn’t mean to imply that all onac were goa’uld, only that age itself doesn’t bring wisdom.”

“Centuries of foolishness is still foolish,” Samas agreed.

Rodney sat up straight. “And the IOC is full of idiots, and they aren’t going to want to send Sheppard back to us, and nothing has gone right since he left.” Rodney’s voice had a dark intensity that made a shiver go through Tony.

“General O’Neill is going to get his promotion pushed through, and Weir is working on the political end of things. They’ll fix this,” Lorne said firmly.

Tony wondered if that was the result of wishful thinking or inside information.

“They’re two people against the legions of morons that run that planet. They’re never going to give him back.” Rodney exploded up onto his feet, and everyone else leapt up after him. 

Radek caught his arm first. “We give them time to work. You know this.”

“And when they fail again?” Rodney demanded. “What do we do when they send us someone else, someone even worse? How do we make them understand that they’re going to destroy this city because they keep thinking that Atlantis is just one more post?” The hysteria was definitely winning.

Samas pushed past the others to stand in front of Rodney. He grabbed both Rodney’s shoulders and gave him a little shake. “I have not survived thousands of years to lose a battle to the IOC,” he snapped. Rodney closed his mouth. “Can anyone else run this city better than us?”

Rodney looked around at the small group gathered on the pier. “No?”

Samas smiled. “Then they can send who they like. We shall keep the city floating and do no more until they send us back the one who can make it sing. They may try to target us, but as long as all of us do our jobs and no more, there’s no head for them to strike at.”

“I probably shouldn’t be hearing this,” Lorne said softly, but he didn’t make any move to leave. That surprised Tony.

He turned on Lorne. “You don’t even know Sheppard.”

Lorne shrugged. “Nope, but I know that O’Neill wants him back here. That’s enough for me.”

“And the rest of us must learn to wait.” Samas smiled. “I am very skilled in waiting.”

“And perhaps in doing more than just waiting,” Radek said softly.

Teyla’s voice rose above the sound of the waves hitting the pier. “I remember Airman Giffords who threatened to punch Major Sheppard if the major ever again tried to go on a suicide mission.”

Tony remembered that day. Sheppard had run off to ‘save’ Chaya Sar. Of course it turned out she could take care of herself, but that didn’t change the fact that Sheppard had taken exactly one jumper and gone running straight into a Wraith attack. Ford had been too shocked to even comment when Sheppard had come back. Weir had ripped into him and talked about command structure and permission. However Airman Giffords had stood with hands fisted and threatened to punch John. That’s who finally got through to him that day. Tony liked to think that’s when Sheppard realized that he wasn’t just a pilot who happened to end up being the highest ranking officer, but he was, in fact, the military commander of Atlantis.

Tony lifted his glass. “We remember. We remember all of them, and we’ll keep the city lights lit until Sheppard comes home.”

The others raised their glasses. Tony figured it was the least they owed Cooper, Yin, and Giffords. If Sheppard had been in charge, he would have vetoed any mission until Rodney was comfortable with it, and by that time, Rodney would have figured out that the energy came from unstable naquadria. Samas was right. They needed their commander back.


	22. John gets his promotion!

John grinned as he touched his new insignia. He was officially a light bird... a lieutenant colonel. He had a quick and uncharitable thought about calling his father with a quick “Told you so,” but he decided that colonels shouldn’t be that petty. Colonels. As in he was a colonel. And he was the colonel officially ordered to ship out to Atlantis in a week. If he got any more giddy, General O’Neill was going to order him to take a drug test.

“Good day, sir?” the sergeant driving him asked.

“One of those perfect ones,” John agreed. “Not even meeting with the Department of Defense big wigs can make this day less than perfect.” Strangely, John had already informally hobnobbed with most of the men assigned to grill him today. General O’Neill had forced him to socialize and play politics with so many generals and Congressmen that John’s father would have been proud, which was another reason to avoid calling the old man.

The sergeant whistled. “You’re in the big leagues, sir.”

“Only until I ship out,” John pointed out.

“Yes, sir. We have some road construction ahead. If we want to get you to your meeting, we’re going to have to detour.”

“That’s fine.” John didn’t care how they got there. Honestly, he didn’t care if they were late, as long as he could blame it on someone else. Standing up a group of generals and politicians in his first week as a colonel wouldn’t send the right message.

John went back to reading his briefing information so he would be ready for anything. No, he didn’t start the rumors about being ascended. No, he didn’t believe he was the only man for the job, or at least if he did, he wasn’t stupid enough to say it out loud. He’d learned one or two things in the last several months. General O’Neill had included every potential question he expected the panel to throw at John, and he mentally composed answer to all of them.

“Sir?” The alarmed voice in the Marine sergeant’s voice brought John’s attention back to the road. Other cars were moving through the road ahead, but a construction worker was waving them toward an alley to the right. “Maybe I’m just paranoid, but this is…”

“Alarming?” John grabbed his phone. “Yeah. We don’t have reason to panic yet, though.” John dialed the general’s office. 

“Aw crap. Don’t tell me you pissed them off already. I keep telling you, Sheppard, say that stuff behind their backs. Behind their backs.”

John couldn’t resist smiling. “Yes, sir. I actually haven’t had a chance to piss anyone off, but I was wondering if you had any suspicious activity in our area.”

The silence on the other end was telling. “Situation?”

“We’re being detoured into a long alley,” John reported. He pulled his service weapon out of his briefcase. He’d been warned to not carry it openly in the middle of the city. No one had told him he couldn’t conceal it. John checked the round in the chamber, and the Marine glanced in his rear view mirror at the sound.

“Bullet proof glass, sir. Please don’t try and fire through the window.”

“Understood,” John agreed.

“We’re checking, and we have units en route to cover just in case,” General O’Neill said.

“You know, if this turns out to be a false alarm, I’m going to be really embarrassed,” John said as he watched the brick buildings crawl past. The Marine couldn’t be going faster than five miles an hour, which was a good stalling tactic. If this was a trap, they needed to give the backup time to get through DC traffic.

“Better embarrassed than dead, Colonel.”

“Oh, that makes me feel so much better, General. Thank you.”

O’Neill snorted in amusement. He was also concerned enough that he didn’t hang up. John could hear his muffled orders as he talked to someone else in the room. A muffled pop made the windows rattle, and a fraction of a second later, the sergeant gunned the engine. Unfortunately, he didn’t move fast enough and a chunk of wall fell on the hood of the car. Immediately, John knew they were in deep shit. The windshield failed and the sergeant was left with no cover. He tumbled out the driver’s side door an started firing on someone coming up from the rear fast. John stuck his head up long enough to see a black SUV. It kind of matched the one coming at them from the front.

“It’s a trap, sir. Two SUVs black. We’re pinned in the car and it’s disabled. Taking fire.” John heard the sharp pings of bullets against metal and the whine of zats.

“They have zats.” At that, John dropped the phone and went out the passenger side and pulled the front door open so he was between them and had some cover as he fired on the SUV coming up on their front bumper.

“Sir, get inside,” the Marine yelled.

“You can’t cover both directions at once. Cover your own 12 and I’ll keep your six,” John yelled back. Maybe that was enough to convince the Marine that John wasn’t a paperwork sort of Colonel because he went back to targeting his SUV.

Three shots in, John realized that their tires were made of something designed to not puncture when hit and the vehicle was bulletproof. The whole damn thing must be armored. He’d also learned to not touch metal directly after it had absorbed a zat blast and that he really hated being shot at. To be fair, he already knew that last one was true.

The sergeant gave a cry, and John looked over in time to see him catch the edge of a zat blast as he leaned around the door to take another shot. He collapsed on the ground, his head in clear view of the enemy. John paused. He could try and scramble through the door to pull the sergeant to safety, but he couldn’t do that while covering him. He turned and focused on the SUV behind him, but oddly, a man was stepping out in front, his hands held up.

“Colonel Sheppard, let’s talk.”

“Talk? That doesn’t seem to be what you’re doing.” Stall. Just stall for time. Why the hell didn’t they have jumpers assigned here? Yeah, there was the recharging problem, but Rodney could figure that out.

“Your man is down. Now he won’t stay down, so that puts us in an interesting situation. If this battle goes on, we’re going to take the head shot. That will keep your guard out of our way while we capture you.”

“You know, that’s a really bad plan,” John pointed out. “Capturing me rarely ends well for anyone. Including me.”

“You understand politics well enough to know this isn’t personal, Colonel. You surrender in the next ten seconds, and we will take you into custody and hold you until General O’Neill is willing to listen to reason.”

“I don’t think the general has ever listened to reason, so you might want to rethink that.”

“The alternative is that you continue resisting. We will kill the sergeant right now and with us coming from both sides, we will capture you. We don’t mind taking a few casualties. I’m not sure the same can be said for you.”

John looked over at the sergeant lying helpless on the ground. Without someone to watch his six, he wouldn’t hold out long, and they would still get him, the only difference is that the sergeant would have died for nothing. John could distantly hear O’Neill yelling something, but he ignored it.

John stood, holding his weapon out to the side. “Let’s not do anything permanent.”

“Weapon on the ground.”

John turned sideways to come out from behind the car door, and now several armed soldiers in black came out from the sides of the van. Shit. “Well, this is a larger party than I expected. Should I be complemented or do you always overplan?” he asked as he carefully put his weapon on the ground and then stood. He stepped back away from it and put his hands on his head without being asked. “Zats and P90s. All for one little colonel?”

“You’ve decided to make yourself a player, Colonel Sheppard. This is how the game is played. Turn around.”

John pressed his lips together and tried to calculate how slowly he could move before they lost their tempers. One of the soldiers raised his P90 in the direction of the sergeant who was only now starting to groan. John turned around and braced himself for the hands that would grab him and pull his arms behind his back. If he tried to fight now, he’d likely just pull muscles, so he took several breaths and focused on making the right moves.

He didn’t get a chance because the next thing he knew electricity slammed into his back, and he flew toward the ground, his limbs twitching before he finally fell into the black.


	23. Merry Christmas NCIS folk who would like to see their favorites again

Tony felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, or at least the weight of O’Neill and Gibbs’ expectations, anyway. He’d done hundreds if not thousands of missing persons cases, but that hadn’t prepared him for the need to find his own commanding officer. Sheppard wasn’t Gibbs. He wouldn’t follow Sheppard into a fire, but he’d follow him about anywhere else unless Gibbs ordered him not to. So running a concurrent investigation alongside O’Neill felt less like a chance to prove himself and more like a race against the clock to avoid losing another friend.

Maybe that explained why Tony felt so strange walking into the Navy Yard. The version of Tony who had once worked here didn’t know that aliens were real. He had lived alone and couldn’t maintain a relationship and thought that al-Qaeda was the biggest threat to the United States. 

He’d been a bit of an idiot.

“You okay?” Lieutenant Reed asked. He’d been one of Lorne’s handpicked SGC team members, so Tony trusted him… to a point… but he really didn’t know how to answer.

“I will be if we can find Sheppard.”

“Yes, sir,” Reed agreed. “And if we can’t, General O’Neill is going to start doing some pretty undiplomatic things to some pretty powerful people.”

“If I thought that would get us Sheppard back, I’d encourage him,” Tony pointed out.

“Considering he’s our biggest supporter and every bridge he burns cuts us off from reinforcements, I wouldn’t suggest that, sir,” Reed said. “I’ve been in this command long enough to know how much the general does, and how much we can’t allow him to compromise his position.”

“So, take care of the boss?”

“Seems like you already know that rule.”

Tony nodded. “Yep, which is why we’re going to find Colonel Sheppard.”

Reed fell silent as they got through security. Tony still had his NCIS credentials since he technically worked for the agency, but the two guards at the front were new. It made Tony feel a little out of place. 

“Hey, Tony!” Agent Holder called, waving across the lobby.

“Nicky!” Tony called back.

“You back?”

“Nah, just checking in. I’m still doing the agent afloat deal.”

Holder came over, and Tony could feel Reed shift uncomfortably at his back. It was weird, but Tony could understand why. There were so many people here, and most of them weren’t vetted. They were all potential victims of a goa’uld or wraith invasion, and they didn’t know it. It made Tony feel kind of slimy inside for not warning them. 

“I never thought you’d take a ship duty. Where do you get your manicures?” Nick made an exaggerated expression of horror. “Where do you get your hair done?”

Tony laughed even though it felt strained. “Luckily we have a Czech who’s good with scissors. Otherwise I’d have to resort to a Marine barber. Agent Nick Holder, this is Lieutenant Dan Reed. Reed, this is the agent voted most likely to accidentally shoot me in the ass.”

Nick laughed. “I still don’t know if that was a comment on your ability to annoy people or my aim.”

“Probably both,” Tony said. He felt so artificial joking about some stupid office prank when there were enemies who considered humans food. “Look, I need to get up to see the director.”

“Yeah, sure. Good seeing you.”

“You bet,” Tony said, clapping the man on the shoulder before heading to the elevator. The second the doors closed, he asked Reed, “Did that sound as fake as I felt?”

“Nope. You’re doing better than I did when I got sent out for physical therapy after a mission to P5S-381 ended with me falling down a ravine. I couldn’t figure out how to talk to anyone because anything I had to say was classified.”

“Yeah,” Tony said with a sigh. “And my director is going to love that.”

Reed gave him a wry smile. “Get used to it. The good news is that after five or ten years, you’re so used to it that the mundane shit sort of rolls off and you don’t have any friends outside the program.”

“Aren’t you a little jaded for a lieutenant?”

“I was a sergeant on a field team for five years before I decided to go for an officer position, and before that, I worked in a lot of hot spots locally.”

From anyone else, Tony would assume that meant in the US, as if Reed had worked on insurgents or local terror groups. However, for SGC teams, local meant Earth. Tony understood that, but there wasn’t another soul in this building who would, and that made him feel so very out of place.

The elevator opened on the floor for the director’s office, and Reed stepped forward, clearing the area with the same sort of enthusiasm Major Lorne had shown last time Tony had been here. Reed gave him a clear signal, and Tony turned on his brightest smile to cover the growing unease.

“Cynthia! You are looking younger. You don’t have a painting of some old woman in your attic do you?”

Cynthia laughed and actually came around the desk to catch Tony in a hug, which shocked him so much he didn’t evade. “Tony! We’ve missed you around here.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “No one gets the director’s blood pressure up with you and Gibbs gone.”

“What? Is Timmy falling down on the job?” Tony asked, but he didn’t honestly expect Tim to make waves. When Tony left, he didn’t have the confidence yet. He still remembered when Gibbs had directly ordered Tim to tell off the Deputy Secretary of State. He’d nearly had a heart attack, Tony could tell that when Tim tried to describe the horror later.

Cythia smiled at him and shook her head. “How’s Gibbs?”

“Cranky as hell,” Tony answered honestly. “And we lost our colonel when he came back home for a promotion, so that makes him even crankier. I almost feel sorry for the people back home because Gibbs would much rather be here intimidating suspects.”

Reed made a sound that landed somewhere between a laugh and a snort. “I’m not too much of a man to admit that I’m damn glad I’m on protection detail here because the gunny is going to be on the warpath.”

“Oh yeah.” Tony grimaced. If they didn’t clear this case fast, Tony was going to go back and make another plea to the general to let Gibbs come back to DC, even if he had to leave Samas in Atlantis.

“Well the director is waiting. She got some interesting calls earlier today, from Sec Nav and from the White House.” Cynthia looked impressed. 

“Colonel Sheppard’s a big wig,” Tony agreed. Reed cleared this throat and gave Tony a narrow-eyed look.

“Or not,” Tony added. “Because you know, I’m sure there’s… so, Director Sheppard?” he asked in an overly bright voice.

Cynthia shook her head, but luckily she knew how to keep a secret. That was her whole job. “Go on in,” she said.

Again, Reed took point, and Tony would have accused him of being paranoid, but he’d allowed Tony to leave the hotel without the rest of SG19, and how weird was it that he had his own covert ops teams shadowing him because their colonel had been stolen in the middle of DC. Sheppard had visited dozens of planets, most of which seemed pretty damn hostile. He’d gone on Wraith ships, single-handedly fought back and Genii invasion, and regularly disarmed Rodney’s mouth, but it was a car ride through DC that had gotten him. 

Tony followed Reed into the room, and the second he spotted Jenny Shepherds’ tight expression, he knew that she was not amused. “Director,” Tony offered.

“Agent DiNozzo. So nice to see you again. Please, have a seat.” She stood and gestured stiffly toward the guest chairs. Reed gave him a subtle nod and moved to one wall to cover them better. Jenny’s gaze flicked in his direction before settling on Tony again. “You’ve moved down from a major to a lieutenant.”

Tony smiled at her. “The rest of the team is at the hotel, but unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of investigative skills on the team.”

Dr. Ryder was the linguist, Brown and Williams shot things, Williams and Cheeks spied on things and ran tech and all four were amazingly good at blending into the scenery, but they weren’t crime scene technicians. They were, however, good enough that Tony was wondering if Sheppard could poach them.

“Yes, Sec Nav said that you are to have full access to NCIS facilities. However, he didn’t explain the nature of the case or why it’s NCIS jurisdiction.”

Reed raised his eyebrows. Yep, he was shocked at Director Shepherd’s attitude, but Tony wasn’t. She had fought to get this high in the agency, and she done it by never backing down an inch, even when she should.

“I can’t explain the full situation, but I can say that a Marine sergeant named Anders and Colonel Sheppard of the Air Force were traveling to a briefing in preparation for Colonel Sheppard to return to his posting and take up command. They both disappeared under questionable circumstances.”

“And the posting is related to where you’re serving? And Gibbs?”

Reed spoke up. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you are not cleared for that information.”

Director Shepherd leaned back in her chair and spread her hands. “Fine. I assume that someone will be getting the reports, including the costs of using NCIS equipment. We don’t have the sort of resources the Air Force or even the FBI might provide.”

“I still do paperwork,” Tony said. “If the costs are too high, you may want to talk to Sec Nav.”

“Sec Nav? I actually got a call from the Vice President suggesting that the President is keeping an eye on the investigation and that he would dislike any evidence that we aren’t team players. Tony, I don’t know what you think you’re into, but I can promise you, whatever you’re doing, you’re in too deep.”

Tony smiled. “I know. But right now, I’m just an NCIS agent on an investigation. I’m going to go check in with Abby and see if she can’t help with some footage.”

Williams and Cheeks had already pulled the traffic cameras and gotten shots of the two SUVs and they had the cell phone recording from O’Neill, but Abby was more creative in her approach. He trusted her to find them something more. However, he needed to make sure she wasn’t sending reports up to the director.

Tony stood up. “Hopefully we’ll be in and out.”

“You can use Gibbs’ old desk. The other agents act like it’s haunted, and no one stays there longer than a few days.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” She gave him the most insincere smile Tony had ever seen. Then she turned all her attention to the computer, making it clear that they were dismissed.

Tony and Reed traded looks, and then Reed led the way out of the office. They were back at the elevator when Reed spoke. “That is a woman who does not like being left out of the loop.”

“Ya think?” Tony asked, channeling Gibbs. He could practically envision Gibbs’ disapproving look. “We may actually need Gibbs to run interference if she gets too upset.”

“The IOC won’t like that.”

“Yeah, but she was Gibbs’ partner. We may need him to get her to back off because there’s no way she’s going to take silence as an answer.”

Reed sighed. “Great. And here I thought Lorne was giving me an easy assignment for a change. If she’s a danger to operational security…”

Tony gave him a sympathetic look. “There’s not a damn thing you can do when she’s the director of a federal agency.”

“I hate this shit.”

“Yeah, that’s why I actually like working where I do now. People don’t look over my shoulder.” Tony frowned. “Well, people didn’t before I pissed off Colonel Everett. But we just have to find Sheppard, and then we can all go back to having our reports cheerfully ignored.”

“Yes, sir,” Reed agreed. The elevator stopped on the floor for the lab. “So, is this tech as wild and crazy as you like to tell people?”

Tony grinned at him. “Oh, you’ll see. She’s right through there.” Tony gestured toward Abby’s door and then stood back to watch the show. Abby might work for NCIS, but she really wasn’t military approved. Reed gave him an odd look and then went toward the door with an abundance of caution.

"Hold it right there mister."

"Excuse me?"

"Tony, are you out there?"

"Yep." Tony slipped past Reed who seemed shocked by Abby who was in rare form. Her platform shoes made her taller than ever and she had red streaks in her pigtails and a bare midriff. Today seemed to be a naughty schoolgirl day with a plaid skirt and knee high white socks. It was a little much, even for Abby. "Hey Abbs."

"You're really here." She threw herself at him, and Tony just had time to brace himself before he had an armful of Abby.

"Hey, I told you I would come back and visit when I could, and you're making the security guy twitchy." Reed did look more than a little concerned, but he didn't seem as freaked out as Lorne had been in his first introduction to Abby.

Abby looked at Reed and gave a dismissive snort. "The director said you had evidence of a kidnapping? Hand it over."

"Abbs, before we do, you have to know that the director does not get copied on any of these results. She doesn't get reports or summaries or copies of absolutely anything."

Abby took a step back. "By whose orders?"

Reed answered that. "The Secretary of the Navy gave the director that order, and if you question it, I will not allow any evidence out of my custody. Tony's in charge of the investigation and he says we need you, but I am responsible for making sure that classified information is not shared outside the smallest possible group. In fact, I need you to sign a non-disclosure agreement." Reed slipped his bag off his shoulder and started reaching for the thick packet of papers.

"I have clearance."

"Not for the information you're likely to hear working on this case. I need you to sign before I allow you work on Colonel Sheppard's disappearance."

Tony could see her getting her back up. "Gibbs sent you a note," he said, pulling it out of his pocket. He'd watched Gibbs scrawl out the messy letters.

"Don't let me down and sign the damn papers."

It wasn't the sort of love note that would impress most women, but Tony suspected that it would affect Abby more than any of Tony’s arguments. Abby took it and carefully opened the envelope, sliding out the thick paper Gibbs had gotten from an Athosians. As she read, her eyes shined with tears. She looked up at him. "Why isn't he here?"

"Because he's needed there, Abbs. This isn't a fight he's willing to walk away from."

"So he walks away from me?" Abby sounded incredibly fragile, and Tony caught her hands in his.

"He's always protecting you. You know that."

Abby's gaze darted over toward Reed. Tony practically willed the man to leave them alone, but Reed gestured toward the window and gave Tony a helpless look. He wouldn't leave Tony in a room with an unsecured window, not when the SGC had some enemies on the move. Tony got it. He pulled Abby toward her office.

When the door slid shut, the first tears rolled down Abby's cheeks. "Oh Abby." Tony held his arms open, and she nearly knocked him over. "I've missed you so much, and so has Gibbs."

"Then come home."

"We can't Abby. Well, Gibbs can't, and I won't leave Gibbs." Tony tried to figure out what he could say. He knew full well that everyone and his dog would be listening to his wire right now because O'Neill didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. "They'd be happy to have me back here, but if I did that, who would watch Gibbs' six?" Tony reconsidered that. "Well of course he has a whole bunch of Marines that think their gunny is the best thing since Monday Night Football, but they aren't us. They aren't Gibbs' family. I can't leave him out there alone, Abby."

Abby let go and backed away, her arms wrapped around her stomach. "Why can't I come too?"

"Because you wouldn't be safe. The military is not thrilled with putting crime scene technicians in the middle of dangerous situation.” Usually Tony would have said that the military didn’t like putting women in danger, but between Carter and Vala, they’d sort of knocked the stupidity out of the SGC on that front. “Besides, who would stay with Timmy? And hey, how's Ziva doing?"

She stomped behind her desk and threw herself into the chair. Ziva is in L.A. more than she's here, but I don't care. She isn't part of the family. It was Ducky and Gibbs, you, me, Tim and..." her voice trailed off.

"Kate," Tony finished.

Abby's face crumpled. "And now you and Gibbs are gone and Ducky’s different and Tim.... He doesn't talk about her. He's so busy working in the cybercrimes unit and getting worshipped by them that his head doesn’t fit through doors anymore. And he doesn’t talk about her.”

“Maybe that’s healthy. He’s moving on, Abby, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss her. I bet he still talks to her sometimes, maybe while he’s sitting at that old typewriter of his playing writer.” Tony grinned at her. He knew how hard Tim had taken Kate’s death, but clinging to the pain wasn’t healthy.

Abby shook her head. “It’s not the same. I need you and Gibbs back. Where did you go that I can’t go with you?”

“Abby, I can’t tell you where Gibbs is.”

“Yes, you can.”

“No, I can’t.”

“Tony!”

“Abby, I love you. Gibbs loves you. But we can’t put you in the middle of this fight. It would destroy Gibbs if you got hurt. You don’t understand how much he loves you.”

“No, you don’t understand. I don’t have a family anymore. If I can’t go there, you need to come home.” Abby got her stubborn face going, and Tony could only sigh.

“We aren’t coming back, Abby,” he said softly. He’d keep saying it until she heard him, and that might take a while. He’d thought that time would heal this wound, but clearly it was festering instead. If this was her attitude, she had definitely been trying to hack into someone’s computer to get their location, and from the desperate edge to her voice, she’d failed.

She gave him a small smile. “You’re back now.”

“Lots of guys have to do a few tours as an agent afloat, especially us single guys. And trust me, someone needs to poke some of these officers.”

“And Gibbs?”

Tony took a deep breath. “He wouldn’t leave his post to save his life, Abbs. He believes in what he’s doing, and he wants his damn colonel back, so maybe we can focus on the evidence?”

Tony didn’t think he’d won, not for a second, but she did turn her attention to the case, and he took that as the temporary reprieve it was. “Why is NCIS investigating an Air Force colonel’s disappearance?”

“First, a Marine disappeared with him. Marines are our business. Second, I’m briefed on the nature of the mission, and that makes it a whole lot easier to follow leads. Now, evidence Abby. Well, sign the papers, and then evidence.”

“And the director isn’t in on this?”

“Abby, this is so far above the director that she’s going to have everyone up through the President angry if she gets even one whiff of what’s going on.”

“If Tom Morrow were still director, they wouldn’t cut him out like this,” she said unhappily.

“Yeah, Abby, they would. Hell, from what I hear, the President was pissed that he had to read in the Secretary of the Navy, but the Air Force was using a bunch of his Marines, and the man noticed after a while.”

Abby gave him a horrified look. “How far in the rabbit hole are you?”

“Far enough that I can hear them chewing the carrots,” Tony admitted. “Now, I have a missing Colonel, one cell phone audio tape, traffic cams on two vehicles and a lot of desperate people. You help me track down who to target, and you’re going to get to see what happens when the entire Department of Defense is pissed at the same person at the same time.”

“Right. I can do that.” Abby have a jerky nod and put on her game face. “Time to catch the bad guys.”

Before the first Caf-Pow arrived, Abby was already giving him a horrified look as she listened to the last recording of Colonel Sheppard surrendering. His backup had still been twelve minutes away, and he’d surrendered to save the life of a sergeant. Every time the tape played, Reed cringed a little more. Every time it played, Abby seemed a little more determined to get their colonel back.

Two Caf-Pows later, Abby asked about Colonel Sheppard’s aim, and flailed wildly as it occurred to her that both SUVs drove away. Drove. Meaning either they were heavily armored or Colonel Sheppard and Sergeant Anders both had terrible aim. Since Tony could confirm that Sheppard’s marksmanship was close to Gibbs’ own, that meant that the SUVs had been heavily armored or they would have taken damage and leaked, at the very least.

A third Caf-Pow and a lot of hand waving later, Abby had called every contact she knew and found the locations for fourteen traffic research stations that recorded cars going over them, and she started writing a program that would allow them to identify the timestamp of any vehicles that fell within the parameters of an armored vehicles. That’s when she kicked them both out, giving Tony a kiss on the cheek before he left.

It was dark as they headed up to the parking lot, and Tony realized he missed checking in with Ducky and Tim. Then again, they hadn’t found him in Abby’s lab, either.

“She’s interesting,” Reed said as he walked in front of Tony into the guarded lot where they’d left the car. “Kate?”

Tony sighed. Nothing like reminding someone they were being monitored. “Special Agent Caitlin Todd, killed in the line of duty.”

“Tough break.”

“Yeah. She would have loved all… that.” Tony gestured toward the sky.

“She must have been a gutsy lady then.”

Tony nodded. “The best.” He still felt her loss, but it killed him to see Abby get so stuck on it. It wasn’t that she hadn’t gotten obsessed with things before. She did. It was in her nature. But she should have moved on. But then she didn’t have him to take her out or Gibbs to give her the stink eye, either. 

Guilt was a real bitch. They got in the car, and Reed ran his anti-surveillance equipment before speaking openly.

“Captain Williams and Lieutenant Cheeks are procuring city worker uniforms so they can go out as soon as Ms. Sciuto finishes the programming.”

“Procuring as in asking for them?”

“That would leave a paper trail and could lead to people asking why we want those uniforms, which is why Sergeant Brown is staying here until Abby leaves, and then he’s tailing her.” 

Tony resisted an urge to look around. The team was SGC’s only true covert ops team, so he knew he’d never be able to spot Brown. It was still tempting to look. Stupid, but tempting.

“I’m glad you insisted that we include her. The general’s team is tracking down known NID operatives, but no one thought of a way to track the SUVs, not once we lost them off traffic cameras.”

“It still might not work. That’s the thing with investigations, you have to do charging down a dozen blind alleys before you find the one that leads to your suspect.”

“Yeah, but I feel a little better now than I did twelve hours ago. At least we have a direction.”


	24. Merry Christmas Crossover folk with a Abby-McKay slap down

Tony woke to one of the more horrific sights in the universe: a frantic and angry Rodney McKay.

“You asked a technician to write the program that Sheppard is depending on for his life? Are you insane? Did traveling through the wormhole somehow destroy the last three brain cells you possess that aren’t engaged in thinking about sex or personal hygiene?” Rodney was leaning over Tony’s hotel room bed and spraying spittle as he screamed.

Reed stood at the open door with a sympathetic expression, but he was clearly not planning to rescue Tony.

Tony tried to gather his thoughts before wading into the verbal wars. “Abby figured out how to track him, and how did you get here?”

“Oh please. Once someone brought technology into the rescue, did you really think anyone could keep me away?” Rodney snorted and narrowed his eyes. “And what are you doing in bed?” He snapped his fingers dangerously close to Tony’s face. “Up, up. Come on, it’s time to get a move on.”

Tony understood that this was all Rodney’s way of worrying. He still wanted to shoot the man. “Rodney, do not snap your fingers in the face of a barely awake, armed federal agent. I’m just saying.”

“Say it as you’re getting dressed.”

“That’s kinda hard. I’m naked under here, so unless you want a peep show so you can compare notes with Samas later…” Before Tony had finished, Rodney had already fled. Tony sighed and glared at Reed. “You couldn’t have given me a little warning?”

“What, you mean between him showing up and him barging through all the rooms looking for you? Hell no. You’re less likely to damage McKay than the rest of us, and if we hurt him, Sheppard is going to hurt us.”

“You haven’t even met Sheppard.”

“His reputation precedes him. Sergeant Brown said that Abby never went home and she seems to be up and moving in her lab again this morning. He also says that having a window into a secure area is ridiculous and that the security at the Navy yard ranks up there with a children playing at snow forts.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I don’t think the director normally prepares for alien invasions and Brown does. He can probably find a dozen security holes at the Pentagon. Now get out before Rodney regroups and decides to yell at me while I’m naked.”

“That won’t take long. He’s pretty worked up,” Reed warned and then he was gone. 

Tony moved as fast as humanly possible given that he hadn’t had any coffee and Rodney was probably drinking every drop he could find in the hotel suite. By the time a shower damp and still squinty eyed Tony was heading into the main room, Rodney had clearly set up a pacing pattern. Dr. Ryder sat on one of the couches, still in her green pajamas with her feet pulled up under her. Reed stood off to the side, and Rodney paced a tight circle around the couch.

“Where are Watson and Holmes?” Tony asked.

Rodney stopped dead. “Who?”

Reed answered. “Williams and Cheeks. They’re out getting a couple of vehicles.”

Tony sighed. He was a cop. He really should object to all the stealing of city property. “Let’s head over to the Navy Yard and see what Abby has cooked up for us.”

Immediately, Rodney was in his face. “We are not using anything that I have not checked, and double checked. Do you really think I’m going to trust the life of Sheppard in the hands of someone who doesn’t even have her first PhD?”

“Hey, Abby’s published a lot of papers. She could have her PhD, only she says that people with doctorates are arrogant sons of bitches who are so stuck on their titles that they forget how to be human beings,” Tony pointed out. Sure enough, that was such an alien concept for Rodney’s brain that he was temporarily stunned into silence. “Come on, Rod. Time to save the colonel.” Tony grabbed Rodney by the shoulders and started shoving him toward the door.

Rodney had been less than impressed by the Navy Yard, and Tony wasn’t surprised. He’d worked in the best labs available in three countries on two continents and in two separate galaxies. It took a lot to impress Rodney McKay, and NCIS did not have a lot. A little twisted part of Tony vowed that after they got Sheppard back, he was going to take Rodney up to MTAC and suggest that the computers in there were the best and most secure computers anywhere. He could imagine the look on all the geeks’ faces when McKay shredded them in two seconds flat. Then it occurred to him that Tim would be one of those geeks trying to defend the honor of NCIS, and suddenly Tony didn’t know how to feel.

Abby had changed into something less school girl and more Goth vampire. She smiled at him when they walked in and bounced.

“Tony, Tony, Tony. I have it. My masterpiece is complete.” She spun, stopping when she spotted Rodney.

And Rodney, well he was acting like Rodney. He immediately shoved past Abby to move straight over to her computers. “Yes, yes. Where is this supposed masterpiece of mundane programming?” He touched the computer, but immediately a security screen came up. “What?” Rodney spun around and Abby glared at him, a remote in hand.

“Oh no you don’t. Who are you and why are you touching my babies?” she demanded in a dangerous tone.

“Rod.” Tony tried to pitch his voice the way Sheppard did when he was warning Rodney away from thermonuclear devices. “This is Abby Sciuto. Abby, this is Dr. Rodney McKay, head of sciences at – ” Reed cleared his throat, “where Gibbs and I work,” Tony finished.

“Good for you,” Abby said without softening her tone one bit. “Why are you touching my babies?”

“Oh please. These are hardly babies. They barely qualify as computers, and you don’t have any of your materials secured.”

“Hey, this whole level is secure, buddy. Who do you think you are?”

Tony could see the moment when something in Rodney snapped. “Someone who’s clearly smarter than you are, not that it’s difficult. You have a window. A window. Anyone could be peering in here or climbing in here.”

“The base is secure.”

“Oh yes! So secure that you have someone sleeping your bushes right now so that he’s close if the team needs backing up. That does not make me feel any better.”

“Whoa,” Tony interrupted. “Sergeant Brown is still in the bushes?” Tony looked at Reed.

He shrugged. “He said he’d rather jungle up. Brown’s more comfortable sleeping under a camo net than in a hotel any day of the week.”

Abby turned a beautiful shade of red. “You have someone watching me?”

This Tony knew how to handle. “Hell yes. You’re working on a project that has the entire Pentagon twitching, and no one at NCIS has the sort of skills that Brown does. Brown is like Gibbs was twenty years ago before the knees started creaking. If I am going to ask for your help on something this dangerous, I’m going to make sure I have the person who is as close to Gibbs as possible watching your six. I just didn’t think he’d jungle up in the bushes long term.” He scratched the side of his neck and watched as Abby’s brain spun through a dozen different emotions until settling on fond. Yep, he knew his girl.

Rodney snorted, completely ruining the mood. “No security,” he repeated. “I bet your computers – ” 

“Don’t you say it,” Abby warned.

“Are as unprotected as his building!”

“My babies are all password protected seventeen ways from Sunday.”

Rodney rolled his eyes and turned to the screen. “Oh please. These would be childsplay to hack.” He pulled out a small tablet that probably had Ancient tech shoved inside a Sony case. From the way Reed flinched, he was thinking the same. Before this was over, Tony really needed to buy Reed a huge bottle of booze as a “thank you for guarding me through all the crazy” gift. Maybe then he wouldn’t turn the man back over to Lorne so twitchy that Lorne took it out on him.

Abby crossed her arms. “Fine. Go ahead and try you pumped up little troll. You arrogant – ” She stopped dead as he computer program reappeared on the screen. “Huh.”

“Genius here,” Rodney said in a sing-song. “When people are good, they get to be arrogant.” Abby was starting to soften, Tony could see it. Then Rodney swung around and glared at her. “When they aren’t good, they secure classified data behind defensible security protocols, and that doesn’t include a window.” He pointed at the half-moon of glass. And poof. There went all Abby’s good will toward Rodney, all thimbleful of it.

“So I should be in a vault?”

“Yes. Do you have one?” Rodney looked so honestly hopeful that he managed the impossible. He stymied Abby. However, she recovered faster than most people when first exposed to Rodney McKay. 

“No.” Her voice had a finality that dared him to continue this conversation on the point of death. Tony felt like he was back in the Antarctic, sitting in the lab and turning on gizmos as Rodney shredded his way through half the scientific community before landing on people who were, as he described it, almost not stupid.

Rodney turned his back. “This is ridiculous. I want to see what you did.”

Abby pushed her way over to the computer, and Tony let her. He would take a bullet to protect either of these two, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to protect them from each other. Hell, even Reed had retreated to the far door, and he looked ready to make a run for it. “Oh no. You’d better start sucking up to me if you want what I have.”

“I am not interested in anything beyond your potential to mine datasets.”

“Good because you’re not seeing anything, not even the data sets.”

Rodney snorted. “Like I need you.” He yanked the keyboard out of Abby’s hands since she had reclaimed it, and then he started typing.

Abby looked over to Tony and he took a step back. Her glare promised endless pain. “Fine,” she snapped. “Go ahead. Pound your head against a wall trying to even find – ” Again, she stopped. Yep, Abby was learning the power of a pissed off Rodney. “Oh. You’re actually pretty good.”

“Exceptionally good,” Rodney corrected her. “This. This right here. What is this?” He jabbed the computer screen with his finger.

Abby gave some answer that didn’t make any sense to Tony other than the gismo with the whatsit was there to make the thingamajig do something. They started throwing technical terms back and forth so fast that Tony was starting to get a little dizzy. He’d seen Abby at her manic best, and he’d seen Rodney in that same sort of panicked mania, but until this moment, he’d never realized that their verbal speeds actually matched.

Tony backed up against the wall and stood with Reed out of any potential flail zone. Between Abby zooming around between her three computers and Rodney’s arm flailing, someone was going to get hit eventually. Tony just didn’t want it to be him.

“Are they scaring you?” Reed asked.

“Completely,” Tony agreed.

Reed chuckled and watched them for a few minutes. “At least now I can see why Dr. McKay didn’t frighten you when you first met him.”

He hadn’t thought of it like that. “Rodney’s just a combination of Gibbs in a bad mood and Abby with too much caffeine and too little sleep.”

“I think you just described hell.”

Tony laughed. While those two were dancing around each other, Tony headed for Abby’s office. A quick call to the morgue and Jimmy apologized a million different ways, but Ducky’s mother was ill, and he had been home with her all day. Tony felt a sinking disappointment. He knew that Ducky probably expected that if Tony were back, he’d be around for a while. With both Rodney and Abby on the case, he was hoping to have Sheppard back by the end of the day, and that would mean he would be gone by sunset.

And he truly didn’t have the energy to deal with Tim. He remembered how insecure Tim had been when he first started with the team. Now that Tim had found a place where he could be comfortably geeky all the time, getting pulled out of that place was going to make him turn back into that insecure little nerd. Maybe if Tony and Gibbs had been around longer McGee could have turned into a kick ass agent, but Tony would never stop being angry at the director for not pushing Tim and he’d never stop feeling guilty about abandoning him. Abby was right. They’d been a family. And Tony felt like the kid in the middle of a divorce, but he had made his choice, and he wasn’t sorry.

Gibbs had been confined to quarters by Everett and outright threatened by Ellis before being put on KP duty, and hadn’t that been fun. The worst part was that every Marine, every Hoff, almost every scientist and every Dagan in the damn city had refused to use the mess hall for those two weeks. That left a smattering of Ellis’ command staff and Kavanagh and his cronies. 

Athosians had outdoor barbeques and Marines ate MREs and the guys who ran the kitchen had come close to crying every time Gibbs touched a dish. Ellis’ temper had been on a hair trigger the whole time. And then there’d been the one day that Ellis ordered every military person to eat in the mess hall, and they had all shown up, took the smallest item they could and sat in silence. Tony figured that the loyalty the city had shown him had hurt Gibbs worse than the damn punishment. Gibbs would do anything for his people, and he couldn’t protect them from the fallout from Ellis’ hatred for all things onac. Tony wouldn’t leave Gibbs side for anything. Gibbs needed him. However, he hated leaving the siblings behind.

“Hey,” Reed interrupted his thought.

Tony smiled at him. “What’s up?”

“They’re to the congratulating each other and claiming credit portion of the argument, so I think we’re ready. None of these stations is wireless, so Captain Williams and Lieutenant Cheeks are going out to check on the ones on the north side, you and I are taking east, and we’ve requested two NCIS teams with a field trained techie in each. We’ll brief them after we brief them and have Mr. Secretary give them a little pep talk.”

“Sec Nav?” How long had Tony been daydreaming.

Reed laughed. “You know how you said Director Shepard wouldn’t take silence as an answer?”

“Yeah?” Tony had a very bad feeling.

“The Secretary of Navy just showed up in the Yard. We’ve been asked to brief him.”

Tony nodded and headed back into the main lab.

“Oh please. If you do that, the…” and that’s as many of Rodney’s words as Tony understood, but Rodney and Abby seemed to be weirdly happy yelling at each other.

“Hey!” Tony shouted. “I’ve got to go brief the boss.”

Rodney waved a hand in his direction. “Yes, yes.” Suddenly he whirled around. “Wait. If you’re trying to go off and rescue Sheppard without me, I will shoot you. I will. Watch me. And I’ll aim for something non-vital like a knee, but you know me and aiming.”

Tony crossed his arms over his chest. “First, your aim is great as long as no one is shooting back at you. Second, I know you’re worried. I’m not trying to cut you out of anything McWorry. Third, you’re cleared for field work. I don’t have to leave you behind.” Tony gave Abby an apologetic look.

“I hate you more than ever now,” she told Rodney with a pout. Rodney looked like he didn’t know what to do with that, but Tony turned his back and headed into the hall.

“Where are they waiting?”

“Director Shepard’s office. Apparently she was reassigned to the executive conference room temporarily.”

Tony cringed. Yeah, he would never, ever be coming back to DC. “Let’s make this fast so we can get to the mission.”

Reed nodded. “Yes sir. Williams and Cheeks are already out there, and you know they’ll move faster than any of us.”

Tony nodded. Reed escorted him up to Director Shepard’s office, and Cynthia gave him a concerned look as they passed. Inside the office, Reed stopped, offered a sharp salute, and then stepped to the side so Tony could come in. McGee and three agents Tony didn’t know all sat at the small conference table looking a little shocked and Sec Nav and one of his aides stood at the end. McGee’s mouth came open when he spotted Tony, but he didn’t say anything. Sec Nav was already moving.

“DiNozzo, excellent work on this. Excellent work on everything you’ve done lately.”

“Thank you, sir.” Tony took the hand the Secretary offered and shook it solemnly. He really had fallen down the rabbit hole.

“I’ve just impressed on these four that they report to you and me, and absolutely no one else, so they are going to go gear up while you give me a quick sitrep.” The Secretary waved his arm toward the door, inviting the other NCIS agents to leave. McGee gave Tony another wild-eyed look, but he left with the others. When the door closed, the Secretary’s aide took up a position near Reed at the door.

“I’m looking for the highlights. How are you getting Sheppard back, and what are your current theories about who would benefit from taking him?”


	25. Merry Christmas to the action adventure fans

Rodney tapped his thumb against his knee nervously. “Well?” They had taken the computer away from him after he dropped it the second time, but Rodney couldn’t control the bouts of shaking that kept catching him off guard. Normally he was the one being shot at or taken hostage. He had to either run or shoot or open something or rewire Ancient machinery while running and shooting and opening things. But he didn’t wait. He was horrible at waiting.

Dr. Ryder studied the screen where Rodney had hacked the wireless signal he’d found. Luckily Abby had the equipment to build a powerful receiver that could capture the signal. He really hoped she passed the test he’d left her. If she didn’t, he couldn’t justify bringing in a scientist with half the education of most of his staff. However, if her curiosity and her skills got through the security protocols on his laptop without destroying the data inside, she deserved a spot. 

Normally he didn’t feel bad about hacking O’Neill’s pathetic excuse for a computer network over at Homeworld Command, but after listening to the recordings of Abby’s breakdown, he felt just a little guilty. He understood what it was like to be that smart and finally find people who loved you anyway and then lose them. Yeah, he thought Gibbs was a jarhead, but Abby loved him. And the program had taken him away from her. That didn’t sit right with him, and when he didn’t approve of something, he fixed it. Simple as that. At least, he gave her a chance to fix it.

“The coding on this is layers deep,” Dr. Ryder said. She ran long fingers through her salt and pepper hair.

“You’re a decoder. You’re supposed to be able to do layers,” Rodney snapped. “Doesn’t anyone in this unit know how to do their jobs?” Glares met him from all around. Dr. Ryder’s was the mildest, but then there was the skinny shit with the dark eyes that made Rodney want to guard his balls and the two who were carrying guns that made P90s look like toys.

“Try to not poke the highly trained covert ops team, Rod,” Tony suggested. He rested his hand on Rodney’s knee. Rodney wanted to push him away, but he felt like that hand was all that was holding him together. “Is this feeling a little too easy to anyone else?” Tony asked.

Dr. Ryder turned her chair around and faced the rest of the van. “Yes, which is why I keep looking for some evidence that I’m looking at a trap. This looks like a Trust site. I’ve got similar security protocols and codes, and I’m seeing code words that logically relate to known Trust sites. They aren’t even dumb enough to use compromised Trust ciphers we know.” She ran her hand through her hair again. “Another analyst might have said that these weren’t Trust signals. So either this is real, or they knew the SGC would send their best.”

Rodney clenched his teeth together to keep from screaming. He didn’t care if it was a trap. All the evidence said that Sheppard was in that building, and Rodney wanted him back. Now. Tony tightened his fingers, gripping Rodney’s knee tightly for a second before loosening his grip again.

“How would the SGC handle this if we called it in?”

“When we call it in,” Reed said firmly.

“When we eventually call it in,” Tony compromised.

“Oh for the love of god.” Rodney exploded up out of his seat. “They could be torturing Sheppard right now and you’re arguing semantics. What is wrong with you people?” Rodney might have jumped out of the van just to force the idiots to do something, only there were people between him and all the exits.

“Rodney, this is the most dangerous part of a rescue.” Tony pulled on his hand until Rodney gave up and collapsed back down onto the seat next to him. “If we do something wrong, they will kill Sheppard before we can retrieve him, so we have to move slowly.”

Tony turned to Reed. “When we report the position, what will the SGC do?”

Reed frowned. “They have the Daedalus in orbit, so they will lock onto the position and use sensors to determine the positions of all life signs. They will then wait for a team on the ground to get into position, and use either data on the mobility of the individuals or information on the ground to determine which person is Sheppard and beam him up.”

Tony turned to Rodney. “Could you create a virus that got beamed up with a person?”

Rodney frowned. “That’s just stupid. You clearly don’t understand how computers work because that would require a physical object to carry a computer virus.” He frowned. “But the Daedalus is designed to scan any incoming materials in order to determine whether they pose a risk during rematerializing.” To get information to leap from the buffers to the main computer would be impossible, but the systems were linked. “Not even I could do that.”

“Could Samas?” Tony asked.

“What? NO! He would never create any sort of virus to be used against beaming technology.”

Tony sighed. “No, but if he can do it, then there’s a chance that at least a few of the older goa’uld could too. Could Samas create a virus that got uploaded that way?”

Rodney shook his head. “Onac don’t think outside the box that way.”

“They don’t have to. They just have to watch television. Focus Rodney. If they saw someone do that in a movie and they had the command codes for the Daedalus, could they do it?”

Rodney thought about the way Samas could hold thousands of lines of code in his head at once. “Maybe,” he finally said.

One of the SG guys, Winters or Williams or something, groaned. “Great. So if they carry out standard mission protocol, they could put the whole ship at risk.”

“Over US territory, which would make a mess,” Ryder added. 

Reed looked at Tony. “I don’t know about them, but my orders are to follow you in the field unless you compromise operational security, and then I’m supposed to sit on you.”

Most of the people in the van laughed. Rodney didn’t.

The W-name captain nodded. “We’re here as backup. How do we handle this?”

Tony frowned. “Captain Williams, I don’t run offworld missions. You do.”

“Nope,” he said. “I carry out tactical maneuvers after someone else gives me the mission. We have a potential threat here, so you can pass that on to HQ or come up with mission objectives in the field. We’re just here to make them happen.”

Tony’s frown got deeper, but he didn’t seem inclined to do anything.

“Torture. Potential torture. Right now!” Rodney interjected.

Tony looked at him wearily. “Give me the secure phone,” he said. Reed handed it over and Tony dialed. Right now Rodney didn’t care if the Daedalus did upload a virus and the whole ship blew up as long as Sheppard got off first, and that wasn’t a nice thought, but Rodney had long ago come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t a nice person.

Someone answered Tony’s call after a few seconds. “General, we think we have a location, but there’s a chance that beaming Sheppard out could pose a risk to the Daedalus.” He paused. “Yes, sir.” More pauses. Rodney was on the verge of ripping the phone out of Tony’s hand. “SG19 could get a sense of the situation on the ground, and act if they can do so without risk to the colonel.” Tony grinned as he listened to the response. “Exactly,” he said loudly enough that Rodney got the impression he was interrupting, “this isn’t SG protocol, so it will catch them off guard. We haven’t spotted a single suspicious watcher, and I don’t think Williams or Cheeks would have missed Trust agents.”

Lieutenant Cheeks snorted and then added under his breath, “The day I can’t spot a tail, I’m retiring.”

“You’re twenty-three,” Williams shot back, “you’re too young to be that cocksure.”

Dr. Ryder gave them a dirty look big enough for both of them. Rodney remembered his mother giving him that same look a lot.

“Yes, sir,” Tony said into the phone even as he grinned at them. He hung up the phone. “General O’Neill says we’re on the ground, but we should be advised that they think they have a leak somewhere. They’ve tried to raid a couple of high level targets only to find only low level workers and old intel at each site.”

Williams pressed his lips together for a second. “What the fuck is wrong with people? We have aliens trying to kill us, and that’s not enough? We have to turn on each other?”

Cheeks shook his head. “Rich people have always done anything to get richer. At least we know we don’t have a spy in with us.”

“Why?” Rodney asked.

Pretty much everyone looked at him like he was insane, but it was Williams who answered. “We’re the only all minority SGC team. Two blacks, two Hispanics, and one of us a very gay woman. What would a bunch of rich businessmen think they could get out of us?”

“What difference does that make? They could put a snake in someone.” Rodney’s eyes got big. “What if they’re putting a snake in Sheppard? We should get Samas here.”

Tony patted his leg. “Rodney is one of those rare people who truly doesn’t see race. In his world, you’re smart enough to be worthy of him learning your name or you’re not. Race, religion, culture, sexual orientation—it all fall to the side of his overwhelming prejudice against stupid people.” 

Rodney glared at Tony. “So, Captain Williams, why don’t you go see if you can find our colonel. Reed, maybe the three of us could cover their exit.”

Reed looked in Rodney’s direction.

Rodney poked a finger in his direction. “I am field trained, and I am not staying in the van. If you even ask me to, you are going to find your life on Atlantis more miserable than December in Siberia. I may even apply the same torture to Lorne for sending you, depending on how vindictive I feel. Got it?”

“Got it,” Reed said, lifting his hands in surrender. “We all gearing up then. Captain Williams, from the time we hit the ground, you have command.”

“Good. It’s annoying to have to look to a lieutenant and an NCIS agent for orders,” he said with a grin. “Brown, what do you have on security?”

“High tech all the way. I’m recommending a low tech wrench in the wheels.”

“Entry point?”

Brown pointed at a sheer wall. “I’m going up right there.”

“How?” Rodney demanded.

Brown grinned at him, and Rodney noticed that he was dark skinned. Huh. “Have you ever heard of parkour, Dr. McKay?”

“It sounds like something Teyla would make me eat.”

“You’re about to get schooled, then. Give me fifteen minutes to get in position, sir,” Brown said.

“You have a go,” Williams said. “In fifteen minutes Cheeks and I will be taking the side entrance here. Ryder, you’ll be on our six, and I need you to scramble their computers hard, the second we’re in.”

“Before or after I steal everything they have in there?” she asked.

“Your discretion,” Williams said. “DiNozzo, Reed, McKay. You are to hold position at this location.” He pointed to a spot across the street. “From the looks of things, that’s their primary exit, and you are to zat any and everyone who comes running out that rat hole. We’re likely to miss some on secondary exits, but the mission is recovery of our missing colonel, not capture of enemy operatives. Keep that in mind.

“DiNozzo, ten minutes after primary breeches the side door, call for all the backup the SGC can spare, but do not let them bring in the Daedalus.”

“Yes, sir,” DiNozzo agreed.

“Smartass,” William said. “Brown, we’re working off your mark. Go.” 

Brown grinned and then stripped off everything military. It left him in a hoodie and a pair of old jeans that made him look about seventeen. “See you on the other side,” he said as he shoved a zat down the back of his pants. He jumped out the back of the van and started strolling past the building. When he got near, he took a can of spraypaint and started tagging the brick. 

Rodney’s mouth fell open. “What is he doing?”

“His job,” Williams said, watching the monitor. The pattern crossed several wires, and Rodney watched Brown give an electrical box an extra spray of red.

Someone came out a side door, and Brown threw the can at him and ran off laughing while the guy cursed at him. Cursed. Not shot at. Rodney looked over at Tony. “But… they know they have a kidnapped colonel in there. Why would they assume that was a coincidence? How stupid are these people?” Rodney was truly offended. How the hell could Sheppard let himself get captured by stupid people?

“People see what they want to,” Williams said, “that’s why we’re so good. The paint is corrosive. Their systems should be acting up by now.” Sure enough, a guy came out the side and walked over to the electrical panel, opening it and then slamming it in disgust before going back inside.

“If this is the level of bad guy on Earth, I want a rebate on my taxes. You guys clearly shouldn’t require half as much money as you do to catch these morons.”

Captain Williams shook his head. “I’ll figure out later if that’s a compliment or an insult, but this is Brown’s parkour routine.” Brown came strolling back over to the building, and then suddenly he was leaping up the side. He jumped up and used the electrical box as a stepping stone to leap high enough to grab a second story ledge. He swung sideways and then let go and then somehow ended up three feet over where he started shimmying up a narrow channel in the brick.

“I so want one of him,” Reed said in an admiring tone.

“Find a parkour runner, convince him to join the Air Force, get him sharp shooter trained, and I’m sure O’Neill will let you keep him, but Brown’s mine. Seven minutes to go. Reed, keep your people low profile until the shooting starts.” He gave Rodney a long look.

“Yes, yes. I’m the weak link. I’m still smarter than any of you, and if Sheppard has one hair on his silly head out of place, I’ll make it my mission to torture each and every one of you.”

Williams blinked. “Why Dr. McKay, you say the sweetest things. Cheeks, Ryder, you set?”

Rodney tuned them out and started tapping his thumb against his leg again. He wanted to start shouting at them to go faster. It wasn’t logical, and Rodney hated being illogical. He’d hated it when he’d crashed his system using stimulants, he hated the fact that he couldn’t control his resentment of Carter, he hated that he hadn’t jumped Sheppard when he had the chance. He hated how many illogical stupid things he’d done lately.

Tony shoved a weapon and holder into his hands. “Gear up, Rod,” he said, and Rodney exploded up off the seat, thrilled to be doing anything that would make this go faster. He blinked and the rest of SG19 were gone.

“Are Williams and Cheeks related?” Tony asked. Rodney about screamed at him. How could he care right now?

“They look like father and son, don’t they?” Reed said. “I remember us taking advantage of that fact more than once. Put those two into civvies, and they can wander through a village without making anyone raise an eyebrow.”

“Can we go now?” Rodney demanded.

Reed nodded. “It’s time.” Reed drove the van to their position, and Rodney finally got to stand outside. Then people started running out, and Rodney was busy using a zat to take people down while honestly trying to not hit them twice. After the first couple, he gave up and let Reed and Tony handle the shooting. He went inside and started monitoring Ryder’s computer. She was inside their system, and Rodney immediately started sorting the data.

He found what he wanted in record time. “Symbiotes. They have symbiotes in there,” he yelled.

Tony stuck his head in the van. “What? How many?” In the distance, the sound of a helicopter was coming closer.

“How would I know? I just know the chemicals required to keep a symbiote in stasis, and they’ve been ordering them.”

Tony pulled his phone out. “General, we have goa’uld on site. We don’t know if they’re implanted or still free swimming, but whoever you’re sending, send more, and we may need Samas here to do his blood vengeance thing against all goa’uld.”

“Do they have Sheppard?” Rodney demanded. Tony was still talking to the general, and Rodney lost his cool. He grabbed the phone out of Tony’s hand and tossed it. “Do they have Sheppard?”

Reed was there, and the wind whipped around as a helicopter hovered low enough for special ops guys to drop like spiders sliding down a thread. 

“The building’s secure. We have Sheppard.”

Rodney didn’t wait for anything else, he ran for the building. Behind him, Tony shouted and words were distorted by the sheer force of the downwind created by the helicopter, but Rodney didn’t care about any of it. Sheppard was in there. He was getting his damn colonel back and the next time Sheppard wanted to come to Earth, he was going to be handcuffed to Rodney so the asshole couldn’t do this to him again.


	26. Merry Christmas to the SGA fans who want to see Rodney and John

_For those not paying attention to chapter numbers, this is the 4th chapter of the day, a full set of chapters that are my Christmas present to my readers_

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Gibbs stood in the door and watched Rodney talking to Colonel Sheppard. The man’s hands flew through the air and he stared at Sheppard with such affection that no one could doubt that he adored the colonel. Luckily Sheppard had a better poker face. Either that or the strobe lights, lack of food, nudity and cold had succeeded in wearing him down. 

Samas was so disgusted at the idea of symbiotes that couldn’t even take a host that wasn’t weakened that he refused to come back inside Gibbs and was instead terrorizing the last of the symbiotes and a tank of fish. Tony had his six, and Samas trusted him to watch over them. It was funny, but now that Samas had laid queens on both the homeworld and Atlantis, he wasn’t as desperate to keep himself safe. It truly was the future of the onac species the drove him far more than personal survival.

Sheppard looked up. “Gunny,” he said with a slow smile.

“Sir, congratulations on the promotion.”

The smile got a little bigger. “Yep, and I found the only way to get out of a briefing at the Department of Defense to boot. Good times.”

Gibbs laughed. “I hear the generals were very amused by your description of General O’Neill as someone who never listened to reason.”

Rodney jumped into the conversation and Gibbs had to hold down the rolling fury that threatened to send him out of control. “Yes, yes. He’s smart enough to recognize that O’Neill has clearly suffered cognitive defects from all the concussions he’s taken over the years.”

“Now Rodney, I actually like the general, and he’s not bad when he isn’t being a self-professed asshole who can’t forgive.”

O’Neill chuckled. “I resemble that remark.” 

Gibbs stepped to the side so that General O’Neill could come in. Thankfully, Rodney’s hatred for O’Neill seemed to override the need to make moon eyes at Colonel Sheppard.

“Sir.” Sheppard pushed himself up higher in bed. “Is there any word on Sergeant Anders yet?”

“No.” O’Neill grimaced. “But the intel on site led us to our leak. They had gotten a snake into Caldwell. They were waiting for word that the Daedalus was to beam you up before they put a snake in your head. From there…” O’Neill shrugged.

“At least Samas is having fun with his revenge,” Gibbs pointed out.

O’Neill gave him a disgusted look. “After seeing what Samas is doing, I wouldn’t let him near my kitchen counter, much less let him in my head. That snake has a mean streak.”

“More than you know,” Gibbs agreed.

“Yes, yes, you are unimpressed with Samas’ logic. You know, removing genetically inferior members of the species is a healthy tactic for a species with as little genetic variation as the onac. The queen that failed to remove one individual – Ra – nearly destroyed the entire species.”

O’Neill did not look impressed, but this was not the subject Gibbs wanted to discuss.

“McKay, did you leave your laptop somewhere?” he asked.

Immediately, the man’s eyes shifted around the room. Gibbs looked at Sheppard, and he had that wary look that meant he was nervous about what Rodney might have done, and he should be.

“Everyone said that NCIS was secure, and I was just taking Tony’s word for that. It was better to leave it in a government building under lock and key than take it into the field unnecessarily.”

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. That was so rehearsed that it sounded a bad line from a dinner theatre. 

“Rodney?” Sheppard asked.

“What? I was thinking of operational security.”

“By leaving your computer with a forensic technician who specialized in computers?” Gibbs demanded.

Sheppard pushed himself all the way upright. “You what? Rodney, have you lost your mind?”

“She’s a technician. She doesn’t even have a PhD. Trust me, no one other than me and maybe Radek could crack that computer without destroying every bit of data in the hard drive. Even Samas wouldn’t be able to get past the more creative traps I have on that machine.”

O’Neill sat on the next bed over. “Ya, sure. That’s why I got a call from her at three am telling me I was an egomaniacal asshole for hiding alien invasions from the public. And do I want to know why my personal number is listed in your computer?”

“She cracked it?” Rodney looked honestly shocked. Gibbs narrowed his eyes. He really hadn’t expected Abby to get in, but he had been guilty as hell about leaving the computer there.

O’Neill rubbed a hand over his face without answering.

“Sir, how badly are we compromised?” Sheppard asked softly.

“Well, she called me instead of CNN, so there’s the good news. We beamed a team over, and she seemed more interested in reading Danny the riot act for losing all moral authority the second he went along with the conspiracy. He’ll be in therapy for a few weeks.” From the glare O’Neill shot Rodney’s direction, he was putting the blame for that firmly at Rodney’s feet. “The computer techs say she didn’t copy anything or forward the data, and she kept it separate from the NCIS computers, so we don’t have a breech there. We just have one very intelligent woman who is refusing to sign any nondisclosure agreements.” Now O’Neill turned his glare on Gibbs. He glared right back.

Rodney got on his most stubborn expression. “She’s brilliant. If she can get past the top two layers of encryption on my machine, she’s better than any of the people I have who do have PhDs.”

O’Neill gave him a nasty grin. “Good, because she’s your problem. Have fun taking her with you, Colonel,” O’Neill said before he stood up. “And you might want to get both Scuito and McKay off Earth before I do something I could be demoted for. Or possible given a commendation. It could go either way.” O’Neill went right past Gibbs without saying a word. Gibbs had known the man long enough to know he was truly pissed. McKay sometimes pushed things a little too far, like pulling Abby into the middle of this mess.

“McKay,” he said slowly.

Sheppard immediately reached out and pulled Rodney closer to him. “Now, Gunny, I’m sure it was a mistake.”

“It wasn’t,” Gibbs said firmly. His gut told him that.

Sheppard grimaced. “Okay, probably not, but there is no killing of geeks. That’s a non-negotiable, Gunny.”

Gibbs stared right at Rodney. “Why?”

“Hey, buddy. Gibbs is not going to kill you,” Sheppard said in a reassuring voice. He then gave Gibbs one of those commanding officer looks that made it clear that disobeying that order would not be worth the grief it caused. “What happened, really?”

“She could go back to NCIS if she signed the non-disclosure agreements,” Rodney pointed out. A switch flipped and suddenly his arrogance was back on. He crossed his arms and glared at Gibbs. “She has a choice now.”

Gibbs felt like he’d been hit with cold water. McKay had wanted to give Abby the option of coming to Atlantis. “So you think you know her well enough to put her in this position?”

“I think she’s brilliant.”

“I knew that already,” Gibbs snapped, “but she’s also unconventional and unpredictable. She has no place on a military base.”

“No, but she does in our city. Sheppard wouldn’t treat her the way Ellis or Everett would have.”

“And if the military decides to get its head stuck up its ass again?” Gibbs demanded. That’s the part that was killing him. Abby could be there when they assigned another commanding officer on a power trip.

“Then she signs the agreements and goes home.” Rodney’s mouth curled downward. “You don’t know what it’s like to be smarter than everyone else and to think so fast that the whole world seems to move wrong, and then find the one person that makes all that okay. She had that with you and Tony and Kate. She needed it back.”

Gibbs took a step back, and watched as Sheppard reached out and took Rodney’s had in his.

“I heard the tapes from when Tony talked to her. I couldn’t leave her there.” Rodney lifted his chin, and Gibbs could see that he would never get McKay to believe anything different. The man had arrogantly made this unilateral decision, and nothing Gibbs did would undo the harm or even convince Rodney to understand his mistake. Abby would feel trapped by all the rules, by the military structure, by the fact that she would be cut off from the nuns, from bowling, from her clubs and her music. This would kill her, and he and Tony wouldn’t be able to stop it. But fucking McKay would still be convinced of his own rightness.

Gibbs turned and landed a punch in the middle of a machine. The metal yielded, and Gibbs could feel a few small bones in his hand break. Immediately Sheppard was up out of bed, his hospital gown not even reaching his bony knees.

A nurse appeared at the door, her eyes wide.

“Stand down, Gunny,” Sheppard ordered.

Gibbs took a step back. “Keep him away from my people,” Gibbs said. He would have said more, only too many words threatened to tumble out at once. Rodney was behind Sheppard now.

“Understood, Gunny. Rodney was out of line, but we will deal with this on Atlantis.”

“So, you’re letting her move to another galaxy?”

“I think I was just ordered to take her to another galaxy,” Sheppard said. “Funny enough, I wasn’t so sure about that trip myself when I found out about it, and I’m willing to bet you had a few doubts.”

Neither Gibbs nor Samas had carried a single doubt with them through the gate. Death was better than a life under guard.

“Give her a chance so see what we’re doing, and if nothing else, she’ll come back understanding why you need to be out there.” Sheppard took a step forward, his hand still braced on the bed. Gibbs could see Rodney’s hand resting against Sheppard’s waist, probably steadying him. The man should be in bed, and he wasn’t because Gibbs wasn’t controlling his temper.

“Yes sir,” he agreed, taking another step back and forcing his fists to unclench. “Permission to take Samas off the science roster until I can work in the same room with Dr. McKay without wanting to hit him?”

Sheppard leaned against the bed. “Permission granted, Gunny. Hey Rodney, you stole my gunny from me, and now I’m stealing your Samas. I love karma.”

“You idiot. Get in bed before you fall down.” Rodney came out from behind Sheppard, and Gibbs turned around and walked off before he gave in to the temptation to punch the man. Rodney meant well, Gibbs understood that, but sometimes, he really pushed things too damn far. Today was one of those days.

Gathering up the tattered remains of his control, Gibbs took several deep breaths before he headed for VIP quarters where Abby had been housed until they all shipped out to Atlantis. At least he got to see his girl again. He just wished that she didn’t have to give up everything so he could have that right.


	27. Abby Trouble

Sorry about the delay... between my day job and final edits on my new profic, this got pushed to the back burner. I'll try to be better.  
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Gibbs stood outside the VIP quarters where General O’Neill had left Abby. She had lost everything, and she was under guard in the middle of the most secure facility in the nation. He’d never wanted this for her. After taking a deep breath, he reached up and knocked. The door opened, and then Gibbs was hit with all five foot ten inches of manic Abby.

“Gibbs! Gibbs, Gibbs, it’s really you!” The force of her impact drove Gibbs back until he hit the other side of the corridor. The guard looked alarmed for a second, his hand on his weapon, but then he smiled and went back to a parade rest. “Where's Tony?” Abby demanded, her legs around Gibbs’ waist.

“Good to see you too, Abby.”

She dropped to the floor and hit him on the arm. “Of course it’s good to see you. You already know I think that, and you’re all about not saying things that don’t need to be said. So you’re here safe and sound, so now I have to worry about Tony.”

Abby logic. Gibbs had missed that more than almost anything else on earth. “I left him guarding someone important.”

“Ooh. Who? Is it someone like the President? I bet the President knows all about this, doesn't he?” She bounced on her toes.

Gibbs had no idea which question to answer first. “I’m sure the President does know about this, but he has his own Secret Service.”

“Yeah, but you and Tony are better. You’re the best. That’s why you’re involved in all this, right? And now I’m involved too!” She smiled, and Gibbs felt a pain just under his ribs. Abby kept bouncing on the balls of her feet, several inches shorter without her platform shoes.

"If you insist on joining a military expedition, they're going to put a lot of restriction on you--on what you wear and how you act," Gibbs said in his most neutral voice. He needed to be careful to avoid pushing Abby too much or she'd set in her heels and insist on doing the opposite.

She nodded. "That's what General O'Neill said, but then he said that since the commanding officer of the expedition only follows the regulations about dress about half the time, that was probably not much of a problem as it would have been last month. Is Colonel Sheppard really that unmilitary? I mean, I know there are lots of unmilitary people in the military, but usually they don't get all the way up to colonel. They get stuck at about captain."

Gibbs couldn't argue any of that. "Colonel Sheppard is more laid back than most, but the last two commanders have been very by the book. They would have insisted on you wearing the expedition uniform and complying with every part of the dress code. Sheppard may have some flexibility, but he will still expect you to wear the uniform."

"Why?" Abby asked with that perfect childlike innocence she still had, despite all the horrible things she'd seen. Gibbs loved her for that ability to never lose her inner child, but at the same time it made dealing with her difficult at times. She had no business in a war zone, and she certainly was not prepared for the realities of the Pegasus galaxy.

"Everyone wears a uniform."

"Yeah, but I'm not everyone." Abby grinned, and Gibbs really had to rein in his temper. He was going to find a way to make Rodney pay for this. Often. However, Gibbs knew when he had lost a battle, so he didn't answer, choosing to retain his ammunition for the coming war. “Can we go find Tony? Then the three musketeers will be together again. Do you think Ducky would take a job with the expedition?”

“No,” Gibbs said firmly. “He has his mother to worry about.” And Gibbs had no intention of telling Ducky anything about the mission. Ducky had done his years of active duty assignments. He’d been far more involved in espionage than most people knew, and even Gibbs wouldn’t know except that he had spotted one or two tells over the years. Ducky probably would feel obligated to defend his world, and the man shouldn't have to. “Let’s go find Tony,” he suggested as he took her elbow and started guiding her down the hallway. It was better to distract her than argue directly. Too late Gibbs realized that he had just offered to take Abby to where Samas was swimming. General O’Neill had brought Samas back to earth to get the symbiote out of Colonel Caldwell.

After finding the Trust’s symbiotes, Samas had been far too angry to come back inside. The younger symbiotes the System Lords were putting out were more and more likely to carry gross genetic defects. Between the fact the queens had been essentially leashed and the fact that human DNA had been introduced to symbiote larva to make them compatible with Jaffa physiology, symbiotes were growing weaker and more corrupt with every generation. Samas could rarely contain his fury when he had to come into contact with these pathetic onac. 

They got in the elevator, and the SGC guard assigned to Abby followed them on. "So," Abby said, "I know why you'd want to join this fight, but what are you doing, exactly? What kind of investigations are we looking at out there?"

"DiNozzo's the Agent Afloat. I'm the gunnery sergeant."

"Really?" Abby turned her sharp gaze on him. "Not that you're not awesome because you're my silver fox so of course you're awesome, but don't they have someone on active duty to do the Marine stuff, Gibbs?"

Leave it to Abby to go straight for the heart of the problem. The woman was too sharp by half. Of course, if that weren't true, she wouldn't have found a way to break McKay's security protocols.

"Gibbs?" she prompted him again as the elevator stopped on their floor. They were only two short corridors away from the biology lab, and Gibbs needed to find a way to explain Samas.

"It's complicated. I was a security risk, and they reactivated my commission to contain the risk." That was such a cold description of a very heated reality. Gibbs' own government had come damn close to dissecting him... Either that or they would have locked him away for life with no trial, no chance to defend himself. He'd understood the risks when he'd invited Samas to first join with him, but back then nothing had mattered. With Shannon and Kelly gone, Gibbs didn't care if he died. The problem was that he'd started caring in the years since then. He cared about the fact that first Tony and now Abby were getting pulled into the mess that he'd started.

"But..." Abby narrowed her eyes. "Gibbs?" Right in the middle of the hall, she stopped and crossed her arms. "Spill it, mister."

Gibbs stopped and glanced toward the guard. The man was carefully not looking at anything, so the SGC clearly didn’t have any rules about keeping Abby away from any additional information. There was no way around it--Gibbs was going to have to have this discussion in public.

"Has anyone told you about goa'uld?"

"No..."

"They're a parasitic species that burrows into the brain and takes over the host. They have used humans for thousands of years."

She wrinkled her nose. "That sounds awful. Does it kill the host?"

Gibbs wished that were true. "No. The host is locked inside his body and can't control it."

"And what do goa'uld do?" Abby's quicksilver brain was clearly already working overtime. She had that expression on her face like when Gibbs brought her a particularly difficult piece of evidence.

"Enslave millions," Gibbs offered. He didn't add that they had all but destroyed their own species.

Abby grimaced. "Oh. Not good. McKay's laptop had more stuff about the Wraith and how they eat people. People are getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop here, aren't they?"

"Yep," Gibbs agreed. He turned to head down the corridor.

"Which doesn't explain why the government would think you were a security risk," Abby said, circling right back around to where they started.

Gibbs honestly tried to find a way to present the truth. "The goa'uld are one branch of a species called onac," he started, but he wasn’t sure where to go from there.

"And there are less evil versions of the parasites?" Abby asked.

Gibbs felt a flash of resentment at the word parasite. Yes, goa'uld were, but their species had never been designed to exist parasitically. Samas' pain over that had sunk into Gibbs' very bones. "Tok'ra are parasites that are trying to stop the goa'uld for about the last two thousand years, but the original species was symbiotic and only lived in hosts for short periods of time."

"Whoa. Then something is seriously hinky because symbiotic and parasitical relationships are completely different. I mean, I'm not a biologist, but that seems like a pretty major difference."

"It is," Gibbs agreed.

"And you're telling me this because you want me to know that not all the onac are parasitic, so I'm guessing that all this not telling me stuff is about not telling me about something related to a non-parasitic onac," Abby guessed. In her own twisted way, she had landed exactly on the truth.

Gibbs stopped again. He honestly didn't know how to finish this conversation, but at this rate, Abby was going to figure it out on her own. Maybe that was for the best. Or maybe he should have the guard escort her to where Tony was watching over Samas. Tony could handle her.

"Hey," Abby said softly. "You can tell me anything. Even if you were going to tell me you had a symbiotic onac in you, I wouldn't stop calling you my silver fox."

Gibbs' gaze snapped right to Abby.

"Which I'm assuming is true because everyone says you're not talkative, although the words 'functional mute' are usually used. But you aren't... not with me. You talk about lots of stuff like the nuns and my bowling game and my crappy taste in men. But right now you're doing a lot of not talking."

"Not easy, Abbs," Gibbs confessed. She always had made it easy for him to let down his guard.

She smiled at him. "Nope," she agreed. She flashed him a handsign. "Is he here now?" she asked in ASL.

"No," Gibbs signed back. "He's swimming."

Abby's whole face lit with pleasure, although Gibbs wasn't sure if she was excited at the idea of an alien or if she was happy at guessing right.

"Do you like him?" Abby signed.

"He's a good man," Gibbs answered. The guard was starting to shift nervously, so Gibbs switched over to spoken English. "His name is Samas. He's several thousand years old."

Her eyes got large. "Really?"

Gibbs nodded.

"Oh my god. That's amazing. That's totally amazing. I'm so completely excited about meeting my first alien."

"You've already met him."

"I have?" She frowned.

Gibbs reached the door to the biology lab and took out his security badge to scan it. "I met Samas when I was in Colombia. He didn't know that the US military had reopened the Stargate. He thought he was trapped on Earth, so he stayed with me."

"Oh my god. That means he was with you the whole time I've known you. How often did he come to work with you?"

"Pretty often," Gibbs admitted.

Abby was grinning like a loon. "Did he ever talk to me?"

Gibbs didn't answer right away. Samas no longer used the reverberating voice with those from Atlantis, but he wasn't sure the Earth people were ready to accept that. "Sometimes," he signed in ASL. The he slid his card through the reader and the lock disengaged. Gibbs pulled it open and waited until she had gone through before following.

She caught his arm and leaned into him as they walked between . "Cool," she said. "I think I'm going to like this new world of yours Gibbs."

"This isn't a game Abby. If you don't sign that release and go home, you're going to be in danger."

"Um..." Abby cleared her throat and looked down at the floor.

"Abby?" Gibbs demanded.

"I told the director, which was totally embarrassing, but I'm not ignoring the problem, but I just think it might be better if I got a little bit of distance."

Gibbs knew immediately that something was really wrong. "From what?"

"Just some boyfriend trouble." The light and airy way she said it made all the hairs on the back of Gibbs' neck stand up.

"Abbs."

She held out for a second before her expression crumpled. "Okay, so he might have been involved in a murder, but he might not have been because he cleans up after crime scenes, so he might have just... can we skip this part? Because honestly, he hasn't bothered me since the last time I moved."

"You had to move?" Gibbs could feel his blood pressure rise.

"Um, a couple of times. He was leaving me gifts that were a little disturbing, but on the good side, he will totally not be passing the psych tests needed to go to another galaxy." She gave him a huge smile, and Gibbs could feel a cold rage rising.

"What did Director Sheppard do about this?"

"Um, she pressed charges when he stole medical waste and staged a crime scene to get my attention. He's on parole now, but it's really hard to prove that he's breaking the protective order I took out."

Gibbs closed his eyes and counted to ten. Abby might be brilliant, but there were times when she didn't see things that were right in front of her. How many murder cases had he worked where some guy was obsessed? Abby was in serious trouble, but she was joking about it. If Gibbs weren't confined to base, he would go to the Navy Yard and have a few words with Jenny. Luckily for Jenny, there were several hundred Marines with orders to keep him on base.

"So where's Tony?" Abby asked with a false sort of cheerfulness. She’d been in a bad situation, Gibbs could tell that. If worse came to worse, Gibbs could go talk to SG19 and ask them to take an interest in this boyfriend of Abby’s. Tony had been very impressed with their work.

Right now Abby needed support. Despite her relentless energy, he could see how their conversation drained her. "Through there, near the open tanks," Gibbs said. He nodded to where he could see Tony’s shadow as he sat near one of the tanks, dangling his fingers in the water. He and Samas were playing keep away with Tony’s blood. Abby went up on her toes to kiss his cheek and then she ran down the center of the room calling “Tony!”

“Gunny, should I inform the general that someone needs a special visit?” the guard asked. 

Gibbs looked over, surprised at the man’s candor.

“The general would not approve of letting a geek go undefended. Protect the geek and don’t let aliens on the planet, those are the two commandments that every SGC soldier learns or he gets a quick transfer out.” The guard waited, a serious expression on his face.

Gibbs turned to see Tony swinging Abby in a circle. “I get the feeling that she’s going to be somewhere this guy will never find her. She’s safe.” Tony put Abby down, and then he pointed to the water. Gibbs watched as Abby dropped to her knees next to tank. Tony crouched down and leaned into her. 

Safe. 

She wasn’t, not in Pegasus, but apparently she wasn’t safe in the Milky Way either. Gibbs just had to find a way to protect her, and part of that meant that making sure the military didn’t move Colonel Sheppard again. If the Air Force sent someone else like Ellis, Abby would suffer. Well Gibbs just needed to make sure that didn’t happen. God knows Samas had been in favor of much more direct action with Ellis, and maybe next time Gibbs wouldn’t argue against it.


	28. A few home truths on the way to home

“Rodney, what are you doing?” John leaned against the wall of the gateroom and tried to peer over Rodney’s shoulder.

“I’m making sure none of these morons disturbed my stuff,” he muttered as he checked another strap on an oversized pallet. John looked at the airman stuck driving the small forklift, but he gave a small shrug.

General O’Neill headed their way with a weary look on his face. Oddly, John was going to miss playing secretary for the man. He was one hell of a general and a worse practical joker. “McKay,” General O’Neill said, drawing the name out. “Why did you bump the civil engineers’ new toys?”

“If you want to keep the wormhole open for an extra five minutes, you can send their pallet.” McKay then walked away, his back stiff. For a second, John thought McKay was honestly angry at the general. However, when John followed Rodney's gaze, he spotted Gibbs, Tony and Ms. Scuito. Gibbs' turned his glare toward Rodney, and John sighed.

"Is this going to work?" the general asked quietly.

John shrugged. "It has to. Honestly, Gibbs is a little unreasonable when it comes to Ms. Scuito. He wants to protect her.”

“Right, and the whole Ori plague thing here on Earth didn’t pose any sort of danger. Nope. We’re all just snug as bugs.” O’Neill pursed his lips and nodded.

“And he's afraid that the military culture is going to crush her spirit,” John added. 

General O'Neill gave him an incredulous look. "He thinks your base is going to be too military? Has Gibbs met you? Besides, none of the Marines will look at her twice if they think it will make the gunny unhappy. I heard about the boycott when Ellis put Gibbs on KP duty."

John nodded. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that Ellis had put Gibbs into the kitchens and exiled Samas to the water. It didn't make sense to ignore one of your oldest and strongest allies. However, John had long ago decided that he didn't see the world the same way as other SGC people. They'd been locked into the battle with goa'uld so long that they seemed to focus on that enemy above all else. The Wraith were a distant afterthought, and even the replicators seemed to take a backseat to the collective hate for goa'uld. It blinded them. Something about that sort of hate made John intensely uncomfortable.

"By the way, Ellis’ retirement went through," O'Neill added.

"So he avoids charges for the three deaths?" John asked. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Yes, they were trying to find a new power source and Kavanagh had given the colonel good reason to believe the planet held the key. On the other hand, Ellis had ignored Samas and Rodney--two of the smartest people John had ever known. In John's book, ignoring those two was enough to qualify as negligence.

"He didn't break any regulations. He just listened to the wrong people and stuck too closely to the book." General O'Neill sighed. "Hell, I get it. I mean, I don't understand how you can trust a snake because I sure as hell wouldn't. But I also know that Atlantis has the best people I could afford to send, and they trust Samas and Gibbs."

"Because he's a good man."

“Gibbs was,” O’Neill said as he watched the trio. Tony was darting between the returning Atlanteans and the new transfers, smiling and slapping shoulders as he went. Abby stayed at Gibbs’ side, but she was bouncing with the sort of energy John associated with Rodney and new technology.

“Gibbs and Samas are both good men,” John said firmly. The fact was that if O’Neill and all the other SGC people weren’t such bastards to Gibbs, he’d suggest that Gibbs and Tony stick around to help hunt for Baal, but if they were going to be irrational bastards, John was very happy to take his people home with him. Home. John got a little thrill at the thought that he was finally going back to his beloved city.

O’Neill gave him an odd look. “Go back to biology class and check the definition of man, Colonel.”

“Yes, sir,” John gave a soft laugh. “But I stick by the good part.”

“You didn’t see him eat the snake in Caldwell’s brain.” O’Neill wrinkled his nose. “I’ve seen things that are straight out of a horror movie, and that still grossed me out.”

“Samas hates goa’uld as much as you do. He’s just a little more direct about how he handles them,” John commented.

O’Neill grunted.

“So, what did Rodney try and bump off the inventory?” John asked. He knew General O’Neill, and unless he missed his guess, whatever Rodney had vetoed, the general had added back onto the inventory and tucked it in at the back. John admired the general’s deviousness.

“The engineers requested scuba gear, deep sea equipment and more heavy tractors that would fit through the gate. I assume that either you folk plan to help out local villages or you plan to build your own fort.”

“And Rodney tried to veto it.” John sighed. He understood that there was only a certain amount of mass that could go through if they wanted to maximize the limited ZPM power, but that sounded like pretty vital equipment. “Do I want to know what he thought was important enough to replace it?” 

“Probably not,” O’Neill commented. He leaned against the pallet Rodney had been checking so carefully. It was stacked with wood crates, all the same size. “Books,” O’Neill finally said.

“Books?” John looked at the pallet in horror. “He’s bringing tons of books?”

“Apparently some of you are not living up to your potential.” The way O’Neill said that—the amused look on his face—made all the hairs on John’s arm stand up, and he had pretty damn hairy arms.

“What did he do?” John asked. He glared at Rodney across the room, but of course the man was too oblivious to notice.

“He found out that your first master’s degree was in mathematics. Apparently he thinks you need to be working on a PhD.”

“What?” John must have shrieked a little louder than he intended because nearly everyone turned to look at him—everyone except Rodney.

“Oh, don’t worry. He’d bringing textbooks for both mathematical and aeronautical engineering degrees. He plans to give you a choice,” O’Neill said, and that was definitely his amused look.

“These books… all of them?” No fucking way was John spending his life locked in an office with a fucking ton of books.

“Nope. Apparently he’s also personally offended that someone as smart as Ms. Scuito doesn’t have at least two degrees, most of his staff needs more cross training, his city workers need a better understanding of the underlying technology, and asking everyone to do these things on computer is a stupid waste of network resources and the rest of us are too idiotic to understand.”

John rubbed his face. This was such a Rodney thing to do. It was rooted in a deep desire to help the people he cared about, but it was so unwelcome and misplaced that John wanted to strangle him.

“I can understand your loyalty to Gibbs better than I can understand why you like that man,” the general commented. At one point O’Neill would have said those words with actual hatred in his voice. Now he just sounded bewildered. After working with O’Neill for almost six months, John got it. The general took people at face value—at least he took allies at face value. He didn’t have the knack for looking past Rodney’s bumbled attempts at altruism and blunt demands.

“Rodney is trying to protect us. In his world, degrees demand respect. He doesn’t want the others to underestimate Ms. Scuito, and he thinks that I’ll be more respected if I have more education.” John could understand that easily enough. The military had fed some of Rodney’s fears by refusing to promote John to lieutenant colonel until he’d finished war college.

“No, it will just make people think you’re even stranger,” O’Neill interrupted. “Besides, I don’t think we’re going to have anyone else clamoring to take the position, so you’re safe in Atlantis.”

“What?” John didn’t understand that comment.

“Colonel Sumner lasted two days before he got fed on, Colonel Everett did a fine job of kicking Wraith ass, only to have a rebellion and now he’s babysitting SGC combat teams with a black mark on his record. Colonel Ellis lasted six months—a new record for any military command not named Sheppard. He’s now been forced into retirement, three people are dead, and he’ll never get his spaceship. Face it, Colonel, the rest of the military thinks your post is cursed. I had to promise Major Lorne that I would get you back inside a month because he doesn’t even want to be temporary military leader.” 

John stared at him. “You have got to be kidding, sir.”

“Nope.”

“A cursed posting?”

O’Neill held up a finger. “Only cursed for military commanders not named Sheppard. The rest of the city seems fine. Maybe it’s something in the commanding officer’s office.” O’Neill got a thoughtful look on his face.

“Maybe the city doesn’t like new people,” Tony said. John hadn’t even noticed him sneaking up.

“Right, that’s it.” O’Neill rolled his eyes, but Tony actually looked serious.

“Come on, Colonel Sheppard, you can’t tell me that you haven’t felt it—that little spark of relief when you get back from a hard mission or the way a room brightens when you walk in. The city loves you. Oh, I think she loves Rodney too, but you’re her golden boy.”

O’Neill had lost all sign of amusement and he stared at Tony with alarm. “Have you been hit in the head recently?”

“Oh hell yes,” Tony agreed. He reached up and rubbed the back of his head where Gibbs did have an unfortunate habit of slapping the man. “But it’s true,” Tony said as he walked backward away from them. “The city loves Sheppard.” With a smile, he turned and headed back to Gibbs’ side.

“I’m starting to think I need to order psyche evals for everyone in that city of yours,” O’Neill said.

“I wouldn’t, sir. Our steeplejack is crazy as hell, and we can’t afford to lose him.”

“Your NCIS agent isn’t exactly well balanced.”

“He’s in love with two men who share one body, one of which happens to be a snake. He was broken when I got him, so I am not taking the blame for any crazy that comes out of him,” John said firmly.

General O’Neill gave him an amused look, but the expression faded quickly. “Give me a second, Colonel,” General O’Neill said, gesturing toward the door.

“Sir, the wormhole…” John felt a crawling sort of panic at the thought of missing the wormhole. With Caldwell recovering from a case of goa’uld and the techs crawling over every inch of the Daedalus, he didn’t want to miss his ride back home.

“They’ll wait for the commander,” O’Neill said, and then he strode away. 

Feeling very uncomfortable, John followed O’Neill into a small office right off the corridor. “Colonel, shut the door,” O’Neill said.

John did.

“I had planned to give this speech to Caldwell,” O’Neill said as he leaned against a bare desk. “I figured you don’t have the time in rank to throw your weight around, but you’ve got the spine to make things stick.”

John definitely didn’t like where this was going. “Sir?”

“Things aren’t going well; you know that. If things get too bad, we may evac the scientists to Atlantis.”

“Sir, we have the Wraith.”

“Which scare me a hell of a lot less than the Ori. If Earth can’t hold, we need someplace we know is secure. I had planned to give Caldwell this speech and then let him and Elizabeth spring it on you if the worst came.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Well I’m telling you now,” O’Neill said without much sympathy. “Try to get secure food sources, defenses, get equipment up and ready for large numbers of refugees.”

Suddenly a lot of pieces clicked in John’s head. “Is that what Ellis was doing?” he asked. O’Neill didn’t deny it.

“Your allies are looking more and more solid, while ours are sneaking over the back fence and talking to the crazy folks with the religious books. Colonel, this is far more serious that anything Earth has faced since the earliest days of the Stargate program. Nine years into it, and we’re back to step one—meeting a new alien race that can kick our ass without trying.”

“Sir?” John desperately wanted O’Neill to stop talking like this. SG1 had managed every crisis and handled every threat the universe had ever thrown at Earth. John had to believe they would keep showing up with miracles on demand.

O’Neill gave him a sad smile. “Contingencies, Colonel. You always have to have a fallback position. However, you also have to understand that sometimes the people calling the shots don’t have the best understanding of things on the ground, so I’m only going to say this once.” General O’Neill stood up and looked John right in the eye. “I don’t care if I walk through that gate or the President or the entire Joint Chiefs—you do what’s right for Atlantis and for the scientists. They are the last hope of stopping the Ori if Earth falls. Scientists trump politicians, Sheppard.”

“Sir?” That sounded alarmingly close to ordering John to violate chain of command. Actually, it was an order to do exactly that.

“If Earth falls, people are going to be panicked and angry. Keep in mind, Sheppard, a refugee is just that—a refugee. Remember the story of the lifeguard and don’t let yourself get pulled under with a drowning man.” O’Neill clapped his hands. “Now, that said, we don’t plan to lose. So be prepared to ignore everything I just told you.”

O’Neill pushed past John to open the door. “And what the hell is a steeplejack?”

John was definitely trapped in a twilight zone. “Someone who climbs the outside of tall buildings to do repairs. Ours is from Hoff, and he’s definitely crazy.”

“You do know you’re driving the bean-counters up a wall with your willingness to take in strays, right?” O’Neill asked.

“Sir…”

“Keep it up, Colonel.” With that, O’Neill stuck his hands in his pockets and started down the corridor. “You’d better get to the gateroom before they leave you behind,” O’Neill called over his shoulder before he started to whistle.

“Atlantis isn’t the only place that needs psyche evals,” John muttered.

“I heard that,” O’Neill called from farther down the hallway. John noticed that he didn’t argue.

John watched as O’Neill vanished around a corner and then he headed for the gateroom. So far, it didn’t look like anyone was moving. Two sergeants were arguing over a clipboard, so it seemed like they were stuck in a holding pattern. John loved the military—hurry up and wait was the official motto.

Suddenly Rodney was right in front of him, his sharp gaze locked onto John. “There you are.” 

“Here I am,” John agreed.

Rodney narrowed his eyes. Something was definitely going on in that oversized brain of his. “I couldn’t find you.”

“I had a quick meeting with—”

“A girl?” Rodney demanded.

John’s mouth fell open. One, he wasn’t meeting a girl, and two, this was definitely not the place to be discussing it if he were… which he wasn’t. John leaned in close. “Have you lost your mind?” he hissed.

Rodney pressed his lips together in a crooked frown that made him look miserable. “Right, right. You’re allowed to be Kirk, only I had hoped you weren’t Kirking on base.”

John tried to sort that piece of mental insanity, but he couldn’t. Rodney had clearly lost his mind. When Rodney turned to leave, his back stiff, John caught his arm. “Oh no you don’t. What do you have rattling around in that brain of yours?”

Rodney sniffed and pulled his arrogance around him like a cloak. “More than you can understand.”

“That’s no joke,” John muttered because he really didn’t understand Rodney right now. Rodney tried to leave again, and John just held on tighter. “Gunny!” he called out. Two gunnery sergeants looked at him, but John focused on Gibbs. “I’ll be in the hall, do not let them leave without me,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” Gibbs agreed, but something in the set of his shoulder suggested that it was Samas who had agreed. John was guessing that Gibbs was still too pissed to be in the same room with Rodney.

“Come on, Rodney,” John said. In a sane world, he could trust his teammate to follow, but John had long ago given up on sane so he just dragged the man out while Rodney spluttered some incoherent complaints. The people returning to Atlantis didn’t even bat an eye.

“Let go,” Rodney finally demanded once they were in the hall. John shoved him in the general direction of the open office door and then followed, standing in the entrance and blocking Rodney’s retreat. “What are you doing? We’re going to miss the wormhole.” Rodney was looking panicked now.

“You heard me tell Gibbs to come get us.”

“Right, and Gibbs isn’t pissed enough to leave me behind,” Rodney said sarcastically. “Are you insane?”

“Hey, Gibbs might hate you right now, but he loves me.”

Rodney crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

“What is your problem, McKay?”

“Nothing!” Rodney snapped the word out way too fast.

John leaned against the door frame. “Come on, buddy,” he wheedled. Sometimes dealing with Rodney required a man to compromise a little on his dignity, but that was fine if John got some answers.

For a short time, Rodney held out. Lips pressed together, he gave John his best death glare, and then out of nowhere he blurted out, “Did you meet someone?”

“Did I… But… Why would you assume that I would meet someone?” John finally demanded.

Rodney waved a hand in his general direction. “Because you're… well… you.”

“Meaning?”

Rodney sighed. “Meaning you're you. You have that hair and the whole svelte thing.”

“Svelte? Who are you and what have you done with Rodney?” John gave Rodney his best grin, but the glare he got in return was enough to wipe it off his face.

“Don't give me that. I am well aware of the fact that from a purely objective perspective, you are more attractive than I am.”

“Wait. Are you feeling insecure? You? Dr. Rodney McKay, PhD, PhD?” John’s brain was definitely getting rewired. Yes, Rodney had insecurities, but he guarded them like a mother cat hovering over her kittens. He never let anyone see anything other than arrogance.

Rodney seemed to deflate. His shoulders sagged, and he waved a listless hand. “Yes, yes. Mock away. Not all of us can be Kirk with women on every planet.”

“I don't have women on any planets.”

“Not for lack of opportunity.”

“Okay, how did we get onto this conversation?”

“We're talking about the likelihood that you will find someone else before me. Not that I've really had time to look. While you were off hobnobbing in Washington DC, I've been trying to keep everything together. Your military is full of idiots.”

John rubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, I already figured that out. But why do you think I'm looking for someone?”

“I never said you were looking.”

“Yes, yes you did.” John could feel his frustration rise.

“No, I said that women tended to fall all over you. I think it's interesting that men don't, but only ten percent of the male population is gay, not that I believe that number because sociology is so imprecise that calling it a science is a travesty. However, I think we can agree that the percentage of gay or bisexual men is lower than heterosexual men, which makes sense in a Darwinian model. And then there is the fact that you are military and your military.”

John held up a hand before this conversation could get any stranger. He had more than exceeded his quota of inappropriate subject matter. “Whoa. Stop, right there. What the hell are you talking about?”

“Theories for why men don't fall all over you the way women do.”

“I think there's a flaw in your logic there, Rodney. No one is falling on me. I did not start seeing anyone else, and I *missed* you Rodney.” John checked the hall before reaching out to rest his hand on Rodney’s shoulder. He didn’t dare do more in the middle of SGC, but he had missed Rodney, more than he’d expected to.

“You did?” Rodney’s expression undertook a serious of wild maneuvers—shock, disbelief, joy and finally a sort of smug acceptance. “Well of course you did.” His grin was infectious, but all too soon it dimmed. “But when I visited you were all business,” he said, sounding confused.

“Because the general suggested that certain people might be watching, and that there was a certain faction that would love a chance to give me a dishonorable discharge.”

Rodney rolled his eyes. “Your military is full of morons.”

“Yes, we're unenlightened and backward and stupid. I heard that the first thousand times you announced it. But the general was trying to protect us because he's not stupid and he sees how much I missed you.”

“Oh. Well then.” Rodney looked at everything except John.

“You really thought I'd move on after six months?” John demanded. Clearly Rodney either had a low opinion of John or a pretty low opinion of his own ability to keep someone’s interest.

“Okay, fine. Yes. I thought maybe you'd had time to reconsider how getting involved in a relationship with me is a completely horrible idea. I'm easily distracted and I'm irritable.”

“I knew that when I propositioned you.”

Rodney raised his chin defiantly. “I'm going to piss you off, and I'm not nearly as attractive, and when really attractive people take an interest in me, it's usually because they want to copy my work.”

“Trust me, I don't need to copy your homework,” John pointed out. “Not unless you want to do my staffing charts for me. Wait. I have my own major now, so I don’t even need you for that.” John grinned triumphantly, but he could still see the doubt in Rodney’s face. “Come on. You're talking like I'm some big catch.”

“You are.”

“You're the only one who thinks that. I've had exactly three relationships that hit the one year mark. Two ended in screaming matches and the third in a divorce.”

“I'm sure that being military—”

“No,” John cut him off because he knew exactly what sort of excuses Rodney was going to come up with. “Rodney, me being in the military certainly didn't help my marriage and my ex-wife is nice enough to tell everyone that my missions were the reason we couldn't make it as a couple. Hell, I tell people that. But the fact is that I am not good at relationships.”

“Who is?”

“No, I mean I'm really not good at them. When I was a kid, the teachers called me emotionally impaired.” John made finger quotes in the air. His father never let him forget that. Never. And people wondered why he didn’t talk to the bastard. “They would have put me in special classes, only my father refused to have a son of his labelled. He hired tutors to try and make me be normal.”

“Emotionally impaired?” Rodney studied him as if searching for some sign that John was lying. Honestly, if John was going to make up a story, this wouldn’t be the one he’d make up.

“Now that I'm older, I look back and wonder if I don't have some autism, but honestly, I don't get people, Rodney. I don't understand why they react the way they do, and I get really frustrated when people change. I am not good with change.”

“I've always refused to change. I mean, I meet some girl and I try, but in the long run, the old Rodney always comes back.”

“Good. I like the old Rodney, and if you were to become a new Rodney, I would get really frustrated.”

Rodney’s frown deepened. “But you're charming. Everyone says you're charming.”

“On the surface, maybe.” John shrugged. “The tutors helped me with how to seem normal, how to make small talk and smile just the right way and maintain eye contact. But trust me, anyone who's known me for more than a couple of months has completely lost any illusion that I'm charming. I get angry and I hold grudges and trust me, I get mean when I'm holding a grudge--even when I don't mean to be. And people are always telling me that I don't react to things the way normal people do.”

“The siege,” Rodney said in a distant voice.

John was almost sure that didn’t fit into their conversation, but then sometimes Rodney’s brain went darting off in directions where mortals couldn’t follow. “What?”

Rodney rolled his eyes as if John was being deliberately thick. “After the Genii took the city and you had to kill all those soldiers in the siege, Radek told me to be careful with you. He said you were going to be depressed and upset about all the death. You never were.”

“No, I was angry. Those people didn't deserve to die and Cowen and Kolya put them in a position where there wasn't any other choice. That was a waste.”

“But you don't feel guilty.”

Not wanting to give Rodney some glib answer, John really thought about it. He regretted it, but he didn’t have the sort of guilt he’d heard other men describe. He certainly wasn’t going to hurt his own life by drinking or trying to escape the memories. Honestly, that just didn’t seem reasonable, although John did understand that other soldiers did exactly that. “I can’t bring myself to feel guilty when I didn't have a choice. But you see... that's me not reacting the way I'm supposed to. I'm no better in relationships, which is why I usually avoid them.”

“So when you asked me...” Rodney let his voice trail off as though he was afraid to finish the thought.

“I get you. You're the first human being I do actually understand, usually because you announce what you're feeling loud enough that even I can't make any mistakes. I'm warning you right up front that I don't take hints. If you want to end this, you're going to have to come right out and say, 'I want to break up.' And even then, there's a chance I'm going to think you're joking.”

“So when all those women hit on you?”

John sighed. “I don't see any of it. I never see it coming. When it comes to relationships, I don't know if someone wants a romantic dinner or a chance to drop me into nuclear waste. I just don't have the gene to understand people. Why do you think I liked the McMurdo base?”

“So, do you have any idea how much everyone in Atlantis missed you?”

“I'm sure command staff missed me, and Gibbs. You have not treated my gunny well, Rodney,” John said. He really needed to find a way to patch that over before it caused problems. If the gunny was unhappy then Tony would be unhappy, and when Tony was unhappy, everyone got a little cross. John didn’t think Tony did that intentionally, but the stress on Atlantis ran pretty high, and without Tony to come in and defuse a few tempers and poke a few egos, the city turned into a pressure cooker. At least it had. John frowned as he realized that he wasn’t sure how the dynamics worked now. 

“You're an idiot,” Rodney announced.

“Well, yeah. I think we just had that discussion.”

“No, I mean you're really an idiot. The whole city missed you.”

John looked at Rodney and waited for the other half of the joke, but Rodney was giving him a look that truly did convey the depths of John’s idiocy. “Really?” John asked. The whole city had missed him? John felt a new jolt of homesickness.

“You don't have to look so smug.”

“Yeah, but I've never had an entire base of people who liked me.” Usually John was lucky if one or two people on a base liked him. And usually the longer he was stationed someplace, the fewer the number of people who liked him. He’d been on Atlantis for a year, and apparently people still liked him.

“You are lucky that I find you attractive or that sort of moronic response would be an utter turn-off,” Rodney announced. With that, he shoved past John and headed back to the gateroom. Yeah, Rodney thought he was joking or exaggerating or something, but John knew better. He never had connected with people, not until Atlantis. Maybe the city was just full of oddballs, but John was more than ready to go home to his island of misfit toys. Whistling, he followed Rodney back into the gateroom and prepared to spend more time waiting.


	29. Home Sweet Home.

John stepped through the wormhole and took a deep breath. For the first time in months, he felt whole, as if he’d left some vital part of himself in Atlantis and he had just now found it.

“Colonel on deck!” Someone called, and rows of marines and airmen all saluted.

John figured he had a reputation to live up to. “So, I guess none of you managed to sink the city,” he joked. Familiar faces grinned back at him, but some of the new faces took on that look of utter neutrality that generally meant that they didn’t know what to think of whatever officer stood in front of them. 

Elizabeth smiled at him as she came down the stairs. “We’ve managed,” she said. Teyla followed a step behind, her smile even warmer. John could feel his breath catch in his breath as he saw the women. These were his family.

Rodney hit John with a shoulder as he passed. “If anyone is doing any experiment that might sink the city, they’d better stop now before I find out. I’ll be the labs.” He strode off so fast that if John didn’t know better, he’d say that Rodney had completely forgotten that they’d decided to have a relationship. Hopefully that wasn’t the case because John could only have the whole emotionally honest conversation so many times before he choked on the words.

“At ease,” John told his soldiers. His. They were his and he was back. He was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t seem to stop. It wasn’t quite how he’d pictured addressing his troops on his first big assignment as a colonel, not that he’d expected to get this high up in the ranks. “I’m glad to see familiar faces, and I’m sure I’ll get to know every one of you in the near future. After all, this is a small city, and we all have to work together. So for right now, you all have work to do,” John told them. “Dismissed.”

The lines broke, and quite of few of the men and women John knew nodded at him, smiling as they headed for the transporters.

“John. I am pleased to have you home,” Teyla said, and something in her expression told him that she meant that down to the core of her being. It couldn’t have been easy for her to try and deal with Ellis. When she reached him, she leaned forward, and he met her halfway, touching foreheads.

“I’m happy to be home,” he said when he straightened up.

For several seconds, she looked into his eyes, her hand rested against his arm. “Many of us rejoice to have you home again, and to have you wearing a ranking to show the respect your world has for you. This will reassure many of the good will of Earth. However, I am very busy and I find that time is running short. You will have to excuse me.”

“Oh. Sure,” John said. He felt a little stab of worry that Teyla didn’t want to spend time with him. However, she smiled at him and squeezed his arm before she offered a nod. 

“I shall see you again soon,” she said before she turned and headed out.

“She’s planning something big,” Elizabeth said, and she gave John a cryptic smile and wink that let him know it was some big secret.

“Should I worry?”

Elizabeth laughed. “I’m sure you’ll be fine,” she said. “I assume you know Major Lorne,” Elizabeth said, which was an odd sort of arrangement. A civilian was formally introducing him to his own second in command. John suspected that wasn’t normal. 

Major Lorne stood to one side, looking all spit and polish. John recognized him from his file photograph, but honestly John had figured the man would relax when he didn't have an Air Force photographer pointing a camera at him. Not so much. He was all starch and straight lines. This could be interesting. "Colonel, it's good to meet you," Lorne said, giving John a smile and a small nod.

"You too, Major. So, you're one of General O'Neill's?"

"Yes, sir. Ever since he was Colonel O'Neill. I've been on geek duty a few times, so I think he hoped I would keep the geeks safe and stop any future rebellions." Lorne gave a small shrug to suggest he didn't know how he'd done on that front. While no one had taken the gate hostage, John did know there were deep divisions and many of the geeks were wildly unhappy, none of which was Lorne's fault.

"Well good job on not driving the geeks into open warfare."

"I do my best, sir," Lorne said, and John was guessing that was as close as Lorne would come to saying that it wasn't easy when Ellis seemed to be driving them toward that very goal. John slapped Lorne on the arm in a manly show of support.

John turned back to Elizabeth. "I assume we're having a command staff meeting later."

She laughed. "Of course. I know how you've missed my meetings."

"The very highlight of my day is listening to Rodney rant about the broken waterlines in a greenhouse," John said dryly, but the fact was that he did miss that. He missed knowing everything about Atlantis, knowing which parts of the grand old dame were being slowly brought back to life and even listening to Rodney rant. Sometimes John could almost imagine that Atlantis was amused by Rodney's passion for her.

"I'll make sure to bring up some plan to give archeology more resources. I'm sure we can get Rodney to rant for you," she teased. With a smile, she turned and headed up the stairs, leaving John with his new second in command.

John really hoped that this worked. He wasn't much for playing nice with others, but it wasn't because he hadn't wanted to play nice. It just seemed like his version of playing nice seemed to piss off other officers.

Plastering on his best ‘everyone loves me grin,’ John asked, "So, any issues I should know about?"

"Nothing of immediate concern." Lorne's voice had that telling neutrality that John had used with his own superior officers far too often for him to miss it.

"Anything of secondary concern?" John asked. Lorne gave a small twitch. "Major?" John asked in a sharper tone. He didn't want to have some second who was always trying to play games with him. As a champion game player, he knew how much grief junior officers could give commanders.

Lorne seemed to let a tiny bit of starch out of his spine. "It's nothing major, sir. We just have a few divisions I've noted among the Marines.”

John sighed. He had to expect that the Marines who came later wouldn't have the same respect for Atlantis geeks. "Walk with me," he said as he headed toward the transporters. Lorne followed without comment. "Geeks versus goons?" John guessed as they reached the transporter. He went inside, and for a second, he ran his hand over the familiar controls and let himself feel the intense relief of knowing he was home. However, the major was watching, so John chose a destination and tried to play it cool.

Lorne only answered when they came out in a new corridor. John had chosen a fairly quiet part of Atlantis so they had some privacy. "No sir," Lorne said. "More Everett's Marines versus Ellis' Marines versus yours, and can I say, sir, your Marines are not amused by what they consider sub-par performance during training."

John groaned. "Well, crap."

"That's about it, sir. I think they take a sort of perverse pleasure out of telling the rest of us how quickly we would have died if we'd been here during your first year."

John could imagine how much experienced soldiers from the SGC would appreciate that. The worst part was that John would probably agree in private. The problem with Ellis and Everett was that they tried to treat Pegasus like a traditional war zone. When aliens got boots on Earth, every alarm in the entire complex went off. On the other hand, every soldier could go home and feel secure walking to the park without a weapon.

Pegasus didn't have that luxury. Enemies were everywhere, and you just had to get used to it. The first wave hadn't even expected to go home, so they were all a special brand of crazy and they'd accepted that faster than John had anticipated. But these new guys were like their commanders... they thought they could wage a war instead of running a city. John had read every report, and he could see the mistakes in their approach, even if, as a major, he had no way to get anyone to listen to him.

Well to be fair, the general listened, but with the IOC backing Ellis, General O'Neill had been limited in what he could do. He refused to micromanage Ellis. At the time, that had driven John crazy, but now he appreciated that he had a commanding officer who wouldn't get involved unless John really fucked up big, and Ellis had. He'd fucked up huge.

"Who's in charge of training?" John asked as he walked the familiar hallways.

Lorne named a sergeant that John only recognized from the file. He was a solid man, but he was SGC trained, so he had a certain way of doing things.

John turned so he could watch Lorne. "Gibbs is head NCO," he said. When Lorne looked relieved, John might have adored the man just a little. At least his second appreciated what Gibbs and Samas brought to the table, even if General O'Neill tended to look a little constipated when people mentioned the name. John new one way to teach his people a few lessons. "Have Gibbs and Teyla set up some training sessions. Make sure that you get a nice mix of first wave Marines and the ones who came later."

Lorne gave him a conspiratorial grin. "So, let your Marines kick the SGC Marines in the ass, sir?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," John agreed. He did love making his point clear without having to call people stupid to their faces. No one could keep up with Gibbs when he had Samas with him, and Teyla was a special brand of scary all her own. The first wave folk could minimize how badly they got beat on, but John was guessing these SGC guys were going to discover a whole new level of pain and humiliation as a ninety pound woman and a fifty year old man kicked their asses.

"I'll go make that happen," Lorne said, which seemed like a pretty subtle way of asking to be dismissed. John nodded and Lorne turned and headed back toward the transporter.

For a second, John stood in the hall and rested his hand against the wall. "Hey old girl. Miss me?" John asked quietly. Yeah, it was stupid to talk to a giant flying city-ship, but talking to inanimate objects was the least significant of John’s many mental disorders. There was something seriously wrong with him because he hadn’t even contacted his birth family, and yet he could feel the immediate relief of being back with Rodney and Elizabeth and Teyla. They were home. They were family.

If the Air Force knew how much he loved them all in his own dysfunctional way, they’d pull him from the posting because they would never trust him to make logical decisions without being overly influenced by his need to protect his people.

“There you are.”

John whirled around to find Rodney standing behind him with a lifesigns detector. “Yeah, here I am.”

Rodney narrowed his eyes and studied John. “Okay, what weird thing do you have under all that stupid hair?” Rodney demanded.

In that moment, John loved Rodney so much that he couldn’t even catch his breath. Let the world turn around them, but Rodney was his constant. Without giving Rodney a chance to say a word, John strode forward and caught Rodney up in an awkward hug with Rodney’s arm caught between their bodies. After a second of stiff surprise, Rodney leaned in and tilted his head back. John kissed him hard. He had no time for slow starts or careful exploration—he simply crushed his mouth against Rodney’s until he could hear Rodney moan. 

When John started shoving Rodney toward a wall, Rodney fisted his jacket. They hit the wall harder than John intended and Rodney gave a little grunt. Before John could apologize, Rodney had slid his hand behind John’s neck and he pulled him closer.

Then Rodney must have stashed the LSD somewhere because he forced his other hand down the front of John’s pants where he awkwardly fumbled in search of John’s cock. At least, that’s what John assumed he was doing. John was a little distracted kissing Rodney so hard that the man would forget his own name. Given the way Rodney kept twitched his body and how he was now pulling John’s hair, John thought he was on the right track.

Rodney opened his mouth farther, and John sucked on his lower lip before thrusting his tongue into John’s mouth. There was nothing slow or gentle—only the hunger of two men who had waited too fucking long. Rodney pulled at John’s hair hard enough to force John’s head to the side and then Rodney’s tongue pressed into his mouth. 

John clung to Rodney’s arm and rocked his hips forward against Rodney’s trapped body. He could feel his hard cock fighting the tight uniform pants. Then Rodney’s fingers found their way past John’s underwear and those long, talented fingers started working the shaft of John’s cock.

“Shit,” John cursed. Rodney took the opportunity to nip at the curved arch of John’s neck. John panted as his desire started to turn into a white-hot need to come. Now. He pressed his knee between Rodney’s legs and thrust slowly into Rodney’s leg, humping him. It was undignified and awkward and so utterly perfect that John almost came at the first thrust.

Rodney finally let go of John’s hair and grabbed his ass, pulling their bodies closer together, and then Rodney was humping him. Rodney moaned his approval and widened his legs, his hand still shoved down John’s pants. John gave a brief thought of returning the favor, but he was afraid they both might fall over. John’s hands flat against the wall on either side of Rodney’s head was about all that was keeping him from tumbling over. 

However, John didn’t have time to consider any other strategy because Rodney had been altering the angle of his body and his thrusts in tiny increments, and suddenly he found the sweet spot. He cried out, and his hand tightened around John’s cock.

John cursed and arched his back as flashes of light went off behind his closed eyelids. Rodney made rough sounds that John assumed were his own version of happiness. His thrusts grew faster, and John grunted as he tried to avoid being the first to come. It was a close thing. Rodney was grinding himself against John and suddenly he jerked and went still, his whole body tight. Only then did John let go of his own iron control and come. He could a drop of his semen slide down his inner leg, and he could only slump forward, hands still braced on the wall as he gasped for air.

John wasn’t even a little comfortable. He was in a public place with the cold wall under his palm when he really wanted to feel Rodney, to run his hands over Rodney’s hard angles and soft curves. However, as much as it had been rough and uncomfortable, it had been oddly perfect. John could feel the hard knots of muscle loosen as his whole body relaxed.

“I can do better than that,” Rodney muttered.

“Much better and you’ll break me. Then you’ll have to explain to Teyla how you broke me,” John pointed out.

There was a brief pause, and then Rodney shoved at him. “Idiot,” he said fondly. “You’re just lucky I have a soft spot for that hair or I would never put up with you.”

“Right,” John said, nodding his head as he pushed himself back from the wall so he stood straight. He definitely needed to find somewhere to sit and a fresh uniform. “It’s all about the hair.”

Rodney snorted. “So why did you come down this hall?” he asked.

John shrugged. “I wanted some privacy. These corridors are quiet.”

“Abandoned,” Rodney corrected him.

“Okay,” John agreed. Rodney clearly had something going on in his brain, and that usually meant that it was just easier to go along.

“There are some living quarters around here.”

“Uh huh.”

“Nice ones.”

John gave Rodney a sharp look.

“Okay, fine. Maybe I had my eye on a few rooms over here, but I needed some place away from all the stupid people because Ellis kissed Kavanagh’s ass and approved scientists who had no business being on Atlantis, and I couldn’t deal with him.” With an angry huff, Rodney turned and walked off down the hall.

Not even sure what they were talking about, John followed. “Rodney?” he asked when Rodney stopped in front of a dead panel.

“Idiots. I’ve spent months putting up with idiots because of the American military. They don’t pay me enough.”

“I’m pretty sure you could buy a small country with your back pay,” John pointed out.

Rodney grunted and pulled out a crystal. There was some sort of plastic piece on the end, and Rodney pulled it off before plugging it in again. Rodney ran his hand over the sensor and the door opened. “These are some sort of family quarters. Two or three bedrooms attach to one main room,” he said as he walked in. John stopped as he saw the room. There was a balcony that ran the length of the main room, and the curtain stirred in the breeze. This tower was on the edge of the city, so they had an uninterrupted view of the ocean as it stretched out to the horizon. Rodney’s work projects were spread over several tables he’d clearly pulled in, and two couches were pushed up against the walls.

“You did all this?”

“Tony helped,” Rodney said. “I rigged the sensors to show me in a lab in the west tower, and I get an alarm if anyone is looking for my lifesign.”

Rodney sank down into one of the chairs and fingered the delicate machinery that lay in pieces on the table. “When you came here, I thought maybe you knew.”

John shook his head. “Nope. I just wanted a little privacy to get my mind wrapped around the idea that I’m home.”

Rodney grinned at him. “You know, I do my best work when I have the space to spread out properly,” he suggested.

“Oh?” John leaned against the table and canted to the side with one hip thrust out. He knew it was a damn good “fuck me” posture. If he was lucky, Rodney might take him up on the offer.

Rodney looked him up and down. “Definitely. And the bedrooms up here have real beds.”

“I think you should show me,” John said.

“I think I could show you a lot,” Rodney said with a sort of bravado that John found absolutely endearing. 

“That sounds like a plan.” John started unbuttoning his jacket. He didn’t need to walk the halls in a wrinkled uniform that looked like it’d been torn off during really enthusiastic sex. As it was, a tiny spot of semen had soaked through the fabric, although John assumed that people weren’t going to be looking at his crotch. Hopefully.

“When do you have to be back?” Rodney asked.

“Not until the staff meeting at three.”

Rodney’s smile got wider. “Oh yeah. I can work with that.”

John could feel his cock give a little twitch. To hell with recovery time, he was ready to go.


	30. New Directions

John leaned against the door and looked into Elizabeth's office. She looked wearier than he remembered, which was ironic considering that the last time he'd seen her, they'd been dealing with a Wraith siege. “You ready for our meeting?” John asked.

Elizabeth looked up from her computer and smiled. “John. You're early.”

“No time like the present,” he said with a shrug. Elizabeth pushed her computer to the side, so John took that as an invitation. “I thought I might take some time to figure out what's changed other than I really love having my very own major.”

Elizabeth chuckled. “Rodney and Teyla think very highly of Major Lorne.”

“Hey, he actually likes paperwork, or at least he likes finishing it and getting it off his desk, so I think he's nifty-keeno,” John said as he sat across the desk from her.

Elizabeth smiled until the sides of her eyes crinkled up. “I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone describe him like that, but I'm glad you like him.”

“I like General O'Neill, so it stands to reason I'd like the guy O'Neill picked for me as a second.” John let the grin slide off his face, and he could see Elizabeth immediately react and become more serious. “I want to go check out the planet where Lorne spotted Lieutenant Ford.”

With a sigh, Elizabeth leaned back in her chair. “The chances are that he ran the second he saw the uniforms, John.”

“But that means there's still a small chance he's there. After all, there can't be too many planets around here that have enough radiation to cook any sort of electronic devices. If it were me, I'd set up a permanent supply depot there and travel off world where the radiation wouldn't kill me as quickly before coming back.”

Elizabeth nodded. “But if that's the case, you're going to have to establish some way to track the wormhole. Otherwise you'll spend weeks searching the jungle and never find him.”

John felt the relief wash through him. He was back, and Elizabeth wasn't saying no the way most of his other commanders had. She just wanted him to think it through. “I thought about asking Rodney to put some sort of alarm on the gate, something that would warn us when it was being used and someone would likely be near it.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” She gave him a sympathetic smile. “We'll find him, John.”

“Yes,” John said firmly, “we will. So, can I escort you to the meeting?” he asked, grandly holding out his arm for her.

She laughed and stood. “Why thank you so much, good sir.” She took his arm in one hand and gathered up her computer in the other.

“So, who's coming to command staff meeting now?” John asked. In the past, it had been Bates, him, Elizabeth, Rodney and Teyla, but Bates was gone and John hadn't seen a lot of Teyla since she'd welcomed him back to the city. Now that he thought about it, that was a little strange, but he’d had his hands full with Rodney and Lorne, although clearly in very different ways.

Elizabeth's voice was suddenly more distant. “Major Lorne and yourself, me, and Rodney.”

John stopped and because Elizabeth was holding his arm, she stopped with him. “Not Teyla?” he asked.

“Colonel Ellis felt it was inappropriate.” Elizabeth's mouth twisted.

“Who keeps track of Pegasus natives on Atlantis?”

“Either Rodney or myself,” Elizabeth said.

“And do you want to keep doing that?” Suddenly John didn't know where he stood. He hated the idea of cutting Teyla out, but he also didn't want to go head-to-head with Elizabeth on his first full day back to work.

The façade of pleasantness that Elizabeth had been tending just sort of collapsed. “God, no,” she said wearily. “I didn't want to change the security protocols without you, but if you want her back...” She looked at him with undisguised hope.

She didn't have time to finish because John was hitting his radio. “Major Sheppard to Teyla.”

“I am here,” Teyla answered, serene as ever even though John suspected she must be fuming about being cut out.

“We're having a command meeting if you'd like to join us.”

There was a brief pause before she answered in that same calm voice, “I would. I shall be there shortly.”

Elizabeth smiled at him, and John decided to push things one step farther. “So, how would you feel about having my chief NCO in the meeting to talk about how things look from the trenches?” John asked. Technically Lorne knew as much as Gibbs, but Gibbs had an insight into things and he had a five thousand year old passenger. John never would have invited the Genii onto the city, but Samas' decision just might have saved their lives. Ladon had been instrumental in helping fight the Wraith.

“I hadn't anticipated that, but Bates did always come to our meetings, didn't he?”

“Yep,” John agreed. “I know you and Samas haven't always seen eye to eye, but he has some good insights as well.”

When Elizabeth pulled her hand away, John thought he had made an error, but she pursed her lips and seemed to think about it. “He was one of my biggest supporters when first Everett and then Ellis tried to cut me out. I was frankly surprised at the amount of effort he put into backing my claim to the city.”

“He's always wanted us to stand on our own feet, not beg Earth for some corner to play in,” John pointed out. Samas was rather uncomplicated that way.

Slowly, Elizabeth nodded. “Then let's invite them. This is a new start, and it's time to make different decisions.” John had been prepared to call, but Elizabeth touched her radio. “Dr. Weir to Samas,” she called. John watched as she listened to the response. She then said, “We have a command meeting beginning in five minutes in the main conference room. I wanted to invite you and Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs to attend.” Her smile grew wider. “I shall look forward to it. Dr. Weir out.” She touched the radio again.

“You invited Samas?” John asked. Technically Samas wasn't in charge of anything. It was Gibbs as the NCO that might warrant an invitation.

She shrugged. “He's been unwelcome enough that I thought he needed an explicit invitation to come up here. Colonel Ellis was not pleased that Samas was asked to come back to earth to deal with Colonel Caldwell's symbiote.”

“General O'Neill was even less pleased when he saw what Samas did when he found the goa'uld,” John admitted. “It was a little gross.”

“I have heard Rodney describe Samas' cannibalism in ways that sometimes concern me,” Elizabeth admitted. She stopped at the entrance to the conference room, and John stopped to allow her to go first. She gave him a small smile and went inside.

“In his defense, he tells everyone that story. Wait. That may not have actually been defending him,” John said.

“Defending who?” Rodney asked as he charged into the room without looking up. A little part of John had been prepared to try and cover for Rodney’s stammering and blushing and generally screwing up as he tried to keep their relationship a secret. Instead, Rodney was just Rodney.

“You and your weird admiration for Samas’ ability to eat members of his own species when they disappoint him,” John offered.

In true Gibbs fashion, Gibbs chose that exact moment to show up, although Samas was in charge. “I do not eat disappointing onac; I vomit them back out,” Samas announced primly. Gibbs could never pull off that attitude, but Samas did excel at it. “Colonel Sheppard.” Samas tilted his head in John’s direction.

“Samas, Gunny,” John said, greeting both. He didn’t comment on the fact that Samas chose a seat as far away from Rodney as he could before standing behind it. Major Lorne came out of the transporter with Teyla, and John smiled at both of them before claiming his own chair next to Rodney who was buried in his computer. John suspected that he was trying to avoid looking at Gibbs. Yeah, what Rodney did with Abby was wrong, but Gibbs was taking his grudge a little too far. John made a mental note to have Tony smooth a few edges there.

Teyla greeted him with, “John, I am pleased to return to this council.”

“You never should have been off,” John said. Teyla gave him an amused look, Gibbs/Samas snorted, and Elizabeth gave him a small smile. Only Lorne avoided showing any sort of disgust for Ellis’ policies, and even then, he stood at Teyla’s side, making his own support for her inclusion clear.

“Shall we start?” Elizabeth asked. “I know that not everyone has had a chance to review the agenda, so any specific decisions can be postponed until Thursday and everyone will be included in the command staff emails to ensure that everyone is up to date. Today I was hoping to review each of our respective areas.” Elizabeth waved a hand at the seats, inviting everyone to sit. 

The words washed over John as he listened to Teyla’s concerns that Pegasus natives were both disturbed and alarmed by Earth politics. Samas commented on the split in the marines between those who had come with the first mission and those who had come to serve under Everett and Ellis. Lorne supported his conclusion that the groups needed time to work and train together before they could be trusted together off-world. Rodney did his best to convince everyone to give the hard sciences more support since the science staff were responsible for saving everyone’s lives on a regular basis, and then Elizabeth turned to John. 

John took a deep breath and plunged into the deep end. After all, these were his people, and he trusted them. “I want to bring something up for discussion.” His announcement caused the room to shift. Samas leaned forward and Rodney actually looked up from his computer.

“John?” Elizabeth asked, her tone concerned.

“Okay, I know I'm the newbie and two weeks before I came to Atlantis, I didn't know about people from other planets.” John stopped, not sure how to broach this topic or how much of O’Neill’s concerns he had a right to share.

“Your planet is in a rather unique position,” Teyla observed, filling the silence.

“Unique.” Rodney snorted. “Stupid would be another. How can people not notice an alien armada fighting over the planet? Morons.”

“Not everyone has your brainpower. Be nice to the people of your home planet,” John said. Rodney rolled his eyes, and suddenly John had found his balance again. “However, my point is that after working in General O'Neill's office, I got a very fast education in the problems facing the home world.”

“Oh?” Teyla leaned forward. “Is there some specific danger?”

John considered how much he wanted to share. Major Lorne was watching him with a barely disguised alarm. He knew something more was going on.

“I know that Stargate Command has a lot of experience handling the universe, but I got to thinking... if something did happen and we had refugees come through the gate, how would we handle it?”

“John?” Elizabeth asked. “What are you thinking?” She had an edge to her voice, and John remembered too late that she was the other person O'Neill had briefed on his plan.

“Yeah, I'm being paranoid, but after a crash course in a dozen different enemies, I think I'm entitled. I'm the military leader. I'm supposed to think about worst case scenarios that won't ever happen, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around just how large and dangerous the universe is.”

“There are a lot of enemies out there,” Lorne said slowly. “But I've been in the SGC for a long time, and I know what those people can do.”

“I don't doubt it,” John agreed. “I read the reports, but there's something different between reading reports and then watching football with a man in holey sweats and realizing that this guy who's drinking beer has, more than once, been the only person between your whole planet and destruction.”

“That could prove distressing,” Teyla agreed. “How can we assist you in feeling more comfortable with this new understanding?”

John loved how calmly Teyla handled everything. Let the world catch on fire, and she'd be standing there with a bucket of water and a calm suggestion that if all they had was a bucket then they should use a bucket. “I want to know how bad this could get if everything went wrong at once. I want some logistics on potential fallout if the worst happens.”

Rodney frowned. “What sort of logistics?” He cocked his head to the side as though trying to figure John out.

“Okay,” John said slowly. If Earth fell quickly, there wouldn't be anyone to save, and Atlantis would only have to survive the lack of supplies. They’d done that before, so it didn’t worry John. “What if Earth had one week's notice that something was coming, and they weren't going to be able to stop it. What are we looking at in terms of refugees through the gate?”

Elizabeth sat back, all her emotions tucked away behind a mask. Teyla looked thoughtful, but Lorne... that man definitely had a case of indigestion going.

“Do I assume that they have a ship with beaming capacity in orbit?” Rodney asked.

John nodded.

“Okay. Beaming is still dangerous if you get people too close together or beam someone into the middle of a wall. So you can't just beam them straight into the gate room and have them walk through. You're going to need a staging area, probably the training rooms on level 23. That means moving people down to the gate room from there, which will require moving large numbers of people through hallways and elevators.” Rodney started typing on his computer. “Are we assuming they're scanning everyone for symbiotes or giving them health checks?”

“Nope,” John said. “Assume worst case--they're just shoving people through as fast as they can.”

“That's relative,” Rodney said, his voice distant. “The ZPM can handle reopening a wormhole every 38 minutes, but the human computers the SGC uses would burn out after a couple of days, so they would have to pause between dialing. And then there's the mass issue. The gate has a huge energy curve up front. If you sent 100 kilograms or 10,000, it's the same, but you do reach a certain mass where the gate starts to pull energy exponentially, so you would have to limit the number of people coming through to avoid depleting the ZPM too soon.”

Gibbs spoke up. “Take into consideration that you'll have a backup on our end.”

“Why?” Rodney asked.

“Because they're going to be stunned at their first sight of Atlantis, and they're going to try to stop,” Gibbs pointed out drily.

“I guess that goes under the heading people are stupid,” Rodney said.

“Ya think?” 

“Rodney, give me some numbers,” John practically begged. He got a dismissive wave in return. People were definitely not going to guess they'd gone from friends to lovers at this rate.

“Okay, so estimate 250 people per hour, given the traffic jam on our end. To maximize the gate, they should open it 22 times in a day, for 5,500 people a day, and if they had a week to evacuate, that would be 38,500.”

Major Lorne looked horrified. “That's all we could evacuate in a week?”

“That's assuming that there wasn't rioting or an international crisis that forced them to overuse the gate and burn out the computers,” Gibbs said softly. “For them, that's best case scenario.”

Teyla looked at all of them with obvious confusion. “That would seem to be a great number of people.”

“It's not even a small part of the population,” John said, but his mind was already moving on to what that “small” population could do to them. “If the SGC sent all food stores on base through the gate with our refugees, how much would that be?” He looked at Lorne. Lorne seemed to be the sort of major who would have those sorts of answers.

“It's a small base, sir, four hundred people on average,” Lorne said, “but I know we always had about four months' worth of provisions stocked. We went into quarantine more often than you might expect.”

John did a quick calculation. “Four hundred people times three meals a day times four months gets you 144,000 meals, which sounds like a lot until you think about 38,500 people.”

“Not even four days,” Rodney said, his voice soft, but still stricken with emotion. “We'd have four days’ worth of food, and then what?”

“There are no allies that could accommodate such a flood of people,” Teyla said softly. “If fear I would not know what to do.”

“What do you suggest, John?” Elizabeth asked.

John didn't know what to suggest; he only knew that he had a boulder of fear sitting in his stomach right now. “Assume these people are going to show up tomorrow. What are our greatest needs?”

“Housing them,” Lorne immediately said.

“No!” Rodney blurted out. “Four days! Four days of food! That's a slightly more pressing problem.”

“Rodney, I am sorry,” Samas said, “but Major Lorne is correct. To have that many people in the city would necessitate putting them in areas that had been hastily cleared. Someone would stumble upon some dangerous piece of equipment or forgotten experiment. That would kill us long before the hunger had a chance to.”

Rodney slumped in his seat. “Great, I get to die and I get to be hungry while I'm doing it.”

The despair pulled at John. “Hey, buddy, this is just an exercise. No one is coming through the gate, and you're not going to die.” Before he realized that he probably needed to play it cool around Rodney, he had leaned over and rested his hand on Rodney's shoulder.

Rodney gave him a weak smile. “Yes, yes. Of course they aren't coming tomorrow, but you have not been in the program long enough to see the truly stupid risks they take with alien technology. It's only a matter of time before they blow themselves up.”

“They've been doing this longer than you, McKay,” Lorne said with a hint of frustration in the tone. Yeah, Lorne was O'Neill's creature in more ways than one.

Rodney graced Lorne with a truly vicious glare. “And I'm truly shocked they haven't gotten themselves killed up to this point. In most of the alternate dimensions they examined using the quantum mirror, Earth is enslaved.”

“Way to bring the pessimism, Rodney,” John said.

Samas chuckled. “On the more optimistic side, in those universes the goa'uld must face the consequences of their actions and suffer slow and painful deaths resulting from genetic degradation rather than dying in battle.” Samas' smile terrified John just a little bit.

“I'm going to ignore that,” John said. “And I'm going to try very hard to never piss you off. You hold a grudge Samas.” John didn't add that he was like Gibbs that way, but he suspected that most of the people at the table were already thinking it. “Priority one is clearing more space in the towers.”

Rodney suddenly got a suspicious look on his face. “Ellis already had two scientists working on that.” John could almost hear the gears in Rodney's head whirring away as it tried to make sense of the patterns it was seeing.

“Are they good enough to get the job done?” John asked.

“No,” was Rodney's blunt answer. “But if this is a priority, I have more scientists I can switch over.”

John shrugged. “Your call, but if that gate opens and people start pouring through, I'm going to ask you where to put them.”

“Scientists. Dammit.” Rodney brought his hand down on the table in a rare show of real anger.

“What?” John was confused. Rodney didn’t normally swear at the idea of scientists.

Rodney rubbed a hand over his face. “If the SGC evacuates, they’re going to send their scientists first. There is nothing worse than a scientist who is cut off from his experiments. They’re all going to want labs and access to resources so they can continue to fight the… the whoever took Earth.” Rodney grunted, but it was pretty clear he knew who posed the real threat. “Many of them will probably bring experiments that need secure lab space. We are going to have to open a lot more space.”

“Which shouldn’t be a problem, right?” John asked optimistically.

“Oh yes, and the last time we tried to open a block of science labs, that didn’t end in people dying and Radek nearly having his brain liquefied,” Rodney snapped, but John understood the worry that lay behind that snark. That had been a horrible experience for all of them.

“Can we limit them, tell them they have to wait until we have facilities?” Elizabeth asked.

“Only if you want them running around and trying to find someone who will try to bully you into giving them what they want,” Rodney said. The man understood politics better than John because John had not seen that possibility, even though it made sense.

“We cannot allow that,” Samas said. “In times of unrest, people flock to leaders they perceive as strong enough to protect them and wealthy enough to provide for the needs of the people. If we are to have 40,000 new people, they must see us as both.”

“We can clear more towers if we have more military escorts,” Rodney said. “We’ll have to go slow on the science areas, but Samas is right. We’ll need to get the scientists settled quickly.”

John nodded. That would give the first wave and second wave marines more time to work together, so this would help on more than one front. “Lorne, coordinate with Rodney and make sure every science team has an escort.”

“Yes, sir.” Lorne nodded. “Permission to shuffle the teams around?” Lorne asked.

“Permission gleefully given, especially since they’re going to be pissed at you and not me when you assign the new partners,” John said. Lorne gave him a shit look, but the stone in John's gut lightened a little. “So food is the next problem. Rodney, what would it take to get more hydroponics and gardens open?”

“More power,” Rodney said flatly. “That's a major endeavor, and even if we have gardens ready to go, it won't keep us from starving after four days. We would have to start growing food in anticipation of needing it, and that’s going to take a lot of water and environmental control.”

“We could store food in advance,” Teyla said. “Most worlds do grow more than they need in case they find themselves faced with hungry refugees or a poor harvest.”

“Enough to feed 40,000 people until a new harvest comes in?” Rodney demanded.

Teyla tilted her head in his direction. “No,” she admitted. “And people will ask why Atlantis is suddenly in need of such resources. Given the respect most people have for Colonel Sheppard, to suggest that he is worried about his homeworld falling could come across as a prophecy in their eyes.”

“Oh, let’s not go there,” John said. “I really wish you would start telling people that the Ancient crap is a load of shit.”

“I most certainly shall not,” Teyla said firmly as she pinned him with an unhappy glare. Yeah, Teyla thought he was an Ancestor, but clearly she was perfectly okay intimidating Ancestors.

Samas spoke next. “Why tell them anything more than we are preparing for refugees? The Wraith are awake. Atlantis accepts that in its ignorance it contributed to this, and as the only place where food can be grown in safety, we hope to become a supplier to any world that has been forced to flee their fields and stores.”

“Of course.” Rodney started his finger snapping, which usually led to good things. “We clear out long-term storage silos—we know we have them—and then we start cycling the grain through. We raise as much as we can and the older grain that is in danger of expiring, we use on humanitarian missions. It would give us the perfect excuse to keep thousands of pounds of grain in the city at a time.”

“We can lock down MREs,” Lorne added. “If we continue to request them from the Daedalus, but restrict their use to emergencies, we can get a healthy stockpile going. But that would mean that we would need a new source of easily carried food for gate teams.”

Lorne had barely stopped speaking when Teyla jumped in. “My people have created ba-shee for generations. We would be happy to teach you to make it, although it would require hunting more game or importing a larger meat animal.”

John wondered how Earth biologists would feel about sending them some cattle, although buffalo might be better adapted to the environment. The planet had some larger predators that might see domesticated cows as one big buffet. “What exactly is ba-shee?” he asked.

“It is a mixture of a number of carefully dried and crushed products including meats, berries, nuts and a local root called mahee mixed together with spices, salt, honey and fat and then stored in small portions that are carefully wrapped. The mixture will remain fresh for years,” Teyla explained.

“Pemmican,” Rodney blurted. “Native Peoples had the same thing. It doesn’t require refrigeration, but if the fat isn’t properly prepared, you can get really sick.”

Teyla raised an eyebrow. “I believe my people might know how to render fat, Rodney.”

“Yes, yes.” Rodney gave her a flappy hand wave. “But this is going to take power, especially if we want to get up and running quickly. I can get all the Hoff on the greenhouses, but we are going to need to put a lot of seed down, and that’s going to take labor.”

“My people shall help,” Teyla said firmly. “No matter who receives the food, to help those in need is a noble goal.”

“Which means we still need power.” Rodney was getting truly frustrated. “Elizabeth, we have to reconsider Doranda.”

John looked from one to another. “Doranda?”

Elizabeth’s expression turned sour. “It’s an abandoned Ancient outpost. Apparently they were experimenting with power sources; however, they failed and nearly destroyed the planet.”

“And I know how to fix it,” Rodney blurted out. “It’s not like that stupid project Ellis and Kavanagh had going, and the very fact that my mission got scrubbed because of their stupidity is utterly unbelievable. Unbelievable,” Rodney said again, his voice rising. “If we can get that working, we’ll have all the power we need!”

“Or you’ll blow up the planet with yourself on it.” Elizabeth’s voice was sharp enough that John figured they’d had this fight before.

“If we want to do this, we don’t have a choice,” Rodney slammed his laptop shut. “We need the power.” He raised his chin and got that crooked frown that meant he wasn’t about to budge off his position.

“Not enough to take these risks. Colonel Ellis taught us that,” Elizabeth said, equally as adamant. 

“Colonel Ellis didn’t listen to his science advisors, something other people are in danger of doing.” Rodney glared at her. “And in case anyone has failed to notice it, this plan includes letting people know the city is still in one piece, which means we need the shields. Actually, we probably need the star drive as well just in case we have to evacuate.”

The vein on the side of Elizabeth’s neck was starting to stand out. “I’m not willing to take the risk.”

“Hey!” John interrupted. “I thought we agreed that we weren’t making any decisions here. Teyla, Gibbs, and Samas are out of the loop, and quite frankly, so am I. I don’t even remember a Doranda on the reports I read.”

Elizabeth glanced over at him, her aggravation still front and center. “Then we can table this discussion until later.” Her tone made it perfectly clear that she didn’t plan to change her mind on this one.

Teyla stepped into the breach, shifting the attention away from the fight. “I hoped to discuss tonight’s celebration. The Athosians wish to come to the city, and I have requests from at least a dozen worlds who hoped to send officials to celebrate our success.”

“Success?” John looked around the table in confusion. “Success with what?”

“With regaining our true leader,” Teyla said, inclining her head in his direction.

Luckily Lorne was a good second because he filled in the details John seemed to be missing. “Teyla has been planning a welcome home party, Colonel. Quite a few of our allies would like a chance to welcome you back. Samas has agreed to run security if you want to allow officials in, ma’am,” Lorne told Elizabeth.

“This would be a chance to show our allies that our priorities have shifted back to a more collaborative relationship,” Teyla said, and John knew her well enough to know that she was also warning Elizabeth that a failure to allow their allies into the city would be seen as proof that the Atlanteans weren’t going to play nice no matter who was in charge.

Elizabeth smiled. “Of course,” she said. “Teyla, coordinate with Gibbs on security measures. Samas, can I trust you to bring your own skills to this job?”

Samas smiled. “No one with ill-intent shall get past either Gibbs or myself.”

Elizabeth stood. “I think that’s all for today. Welcome back everyone.” She smiled at each of them, and people started wandering out of the meeting. “John, may I speak with you for a minute?”

John had been about to leave, and he stopped. Rodney flashed him a sympathetic look and then he headed out, closing the door behind him. “Oh, I know that tone of voice,” John said. “What did I do?”

Elizabeth sank back down into her chair. “Nothing. However, can I assume that you spoke with General O’Neill?”

John nodded. “Yeah. We worked together for six months. He’d have to think pretty poorly of me to keep this a secret after that. After all, I’ve seen the reports from the Ori in the Milky Way.”

“And so you choose to share with the entire command staff?” Elizabeth clearly didn’t approve on that front.

“These are smart people, Elizabeth. I trust them. But if they don’t have the right information, they aren’t going to make the right choices.”

“Like Doranda? John, adding more stress to Rodney is going to push him to take dangerous risks.”

“Oh, I trust Rodney’s sense of self-preservation if nothing else,” John pointed out.

Elizabeth sighed. “I hope you’re right. If not, you’re going to have to pull him back because he does not listen to me. I’m afraid that he’ll never forgive me for being unable to protect him from the military.”

John couldn’t even process that for a second because it didn’t make any sense. “What?” 

“It has been a hard six months, John. Rodney was often belittled and ignored, and he hasn’t been himself. I’m afraid he feels he has to prove something to us. Don’t let him push too far.” She gave him a thoughtful look, and John tried to not squirm under her gaze. “How will you explain this to the SGC?”

John had given that some thought, especially since he didn’t want them to know that O’Neill was making contingency plans. “I’m going to point out that we’re sitting on the greatest cache of Ancient weapons we’ve ever found, and we haven’t devoted the time and effort to exploring it. I am arranging exploration of scientific towers no differently than I would explore any ancient outpost we found on another planet. After all, if we find a weapon sitting in a dusty lab, we’re all going to be pretty embarrassed.”

Elizabeth tapped her fingers against the tabletop. “They’re going to point out that nothing here defeated the Wraith.”

“Which doesn’t mean they didn’t have weapons to use against the Ori. After all, they had some way to prevent the Ori from following them and hunting them down.”

Elizabeth nodded. “It’s a good story. And what is the reason for clearing residential towers?”

“I don’t plan to tell them,” John said with a smirk. “Those are going down as training and teambuilding exercises designed by Lorne to mitigate the ‘us versus them’ attitudes in our marines. We all have the same loyalty.”

“To Pegasus?” Elizabeth asked with a deceptive mildness.

“To Earth,” John corrected her. “We’re doing this for the home planet.”

She softened her words with a small smile. “That could work. But right now, I believe you have a welcome home party to prepare for. From what I hear, it will be the event of the season.”

John groaned. He’d grown up going to social events, and they were a level of hell. He had trouble with people in general so large numbers of people who demanded his attention didn’t sound like fun, especially not when a lot of them looked at him like he was an Ancient. “Great,” he said weakly.

Elizabeth headed for the door, patting him on the arm in passing. “You’ll live, Colonel,” she offered without much sympathy. However, her smile softened her words. She might not always agree with him or cut him slack, but John didn’t doubt that she was happy to have him home.


	31. Abby in Atlantis

Tony used his hands to drum out a tune on the door. "Come in!" a voice called. Tony definitely needed to show Abby how to mentally open doors because not everyone could sweet talk Atlantis into opening someone else's door. Luckily, he could. He gave a little push, and the city opened Abby's door without a grumble. Sometimes when Tony tried to override Rodney's lock, Atlantis would give him a little twinge... a little nonverbal complaint about privacy and making Rodney unhappy.

"Tony!" Abby sang as soon as she saw him. "Oh my God. Have you seen the view? Of course you have, because you live here, but this is incredible!" She stood at a tall window and looked out at the city laid out below. Tony thought Atlantis looked like a snowflake with all her blue and metal structures and sharp edges. "It's gorgeous," Abby said in a reverent voice.

"She's a beautiful lady," Tony agreed. "So, have you seen where you're working?"

"It's only perfect," Abby said with a bounce in her step as she came over to give him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. She had on the uniform pants, but she also wore her black t-shirt with the large red star. It was a strange look, but that was Abby. "I am testing all sorts of substances that come in. Some are trace evidence from teams, and the teams around here get into some really weird stuff. It's really interesting, and it's not as emotionally satisfying as completely screwing over some murderer who thinks he can get away with it in my city, but it's way, way more fascinating. I mean, I'm testing alien substances, although really I'm the alien one since they're native to the area."

When Tony needed a smile, nothing could replace a good Abby babble. "So, you like it?"

"Like it? I love it. And yeah, there are some heads that need slapping and I may totally ask Samas to do that for me since Gibbs can't really slap scientists, but we're going to get it worked out."

"What?" Tony was mildly alarmed at the idea of Abby siccing Gibbs or Samas on anyone. They were too upset about her being here at all. At least Gibbs was. Samas was weirdly arrogant about being able to defend his family. Then Gibbs started in on Samas about how that was the sort of thinking that got both their families killed in the first place, and then it turned into a very odd evening with Samas eventually coming out of Gibbs to shake his fins angrily. Yep, the homefront was a little less peaceful these days, but on the up side, Tony was getting nailed to the bed way more often.

"Have you seen their paperwork?" Abby demanded. "You'd think these people had never heard of chain of custody or tracking a sample. It's like they can't work without two graduate assistants and a TA following them around. They have an entire closet for samples that have been separated from the original paperwork so no one is quite sure where they came from. A whole closet.” Abby’s voice rose to a near-shriek. “And you do not want to know how they handle it when they aren't sure what department a sample falls under. I mean, if it's obviously a plant, David handles it and if it seems like something that would blow up, Rodney gets it, but if it's in the fuzzy middle, it's a madhouse."

"It is?" Clearly Tony had failed to notice a whole lot of potential drama.

"Yes. They send it around to the departments based on who has time, which doesn't make sense. They don't even have someone sort samples by organic or inorganic or do basic DNA tests to determine which of the biology departments it best fits into. I'm telling you, I'm going to have my hands full, and I have already made it very clear that my wrath will come down on the next person to mess up their paperwork. Rodney may threaten them with cannibalism, but I'm almost sure he won't do it. I totally will hack their files and delete all requests for time off or raise reviews. If they can't do the official paperwork correctly, then they aren't going to file the paperwork for the stuff they want."

Tony stared at Abby. This was a side of her he hadn't seen since he was brand new to NCIS and he failed to file the correct paperwork on one of his DNA samples. He had forgotten how scary she was. "Just remember we're on the same side, Abs," he said. He actually wasn't sure how to handle this Abby because mostly he avoided her crusader-girl persona by doing his paperwork correctly.

She rolled her eyes. "Peter already threatened to go to Dr. Weir. I told him to go ahead since there was no way that the government is letting me off Atlantis, so if we can't get along, he's going to be the one who gets the boot."

"Peter?"

"Dr. Kavanagh. At that point, Rodney suggested that he would be lucky to get off the city because Rodney has been thinking of serving him up with fava beans for at least a month now, and I pointed out that I know how to dispose of a body without leaving evidence." Abby dropped down onto her oversized chair. "I think we freaked him out."

"Probably," Tony said weakly. Maybe having Abby and Rodney in the same space wasn't the best idea. Tony was feeling a little sorry for the scientists. And Dr. Weir. Tony was definitely feeling sorry for Dr. Weir. "Do you have everything you need?"

"And more," Abby smiled. "The equipment here is amazing. And Rodney promises to get all my personal belongings rematerialized in the next day or two. He just needs a large space, and with the rain and the big spaces filled up with the official cargo, he hasn't managed to get around to it."

"Wait. What?" While Tony was used to Abby-logic, which only tangentially connected to actual logic, he was having a harder time than usual.

"My personal belongings. You know, the coffin and all my clothes and by sword collection and my blood splatter artwork and my bowling balls. He said he got all of it. He said he picked up all your stuff and Gibbs' too, but I don't know if he really got it or if he just grabbed what they had on base."

"All of it?" Tony had seen the crates they had brought, and there was definitely nothing large enough for a coffin. He would have noticed that. "Wait. You said he has to dematerialize it?"

Abby grinned. "Can you believe that he has a dematerializer? And Samas helped reverse engineer it from Wraith technology? Tim would be beside himself. I mean, he likes to make out that he's better than anyone when it comes to computers and tech, and it turns out that Gibbs is way better. Or Samas anyway, but Samas has been part of Gibbs the whole time we've known him."

"Rodney took Wraith technology to Earth?" Tony was pretty sure his jaw was on the floor. That was breaking regs so spectacularly that Tony had trouble believing Rodney would do it. As much as Rodney bitched about stupid rules, he tended to follow them.

"Oh, he said to not mention that,” Abby said with a cringe, “but I'm sure he didn't mean I shouldn't mention it to you because you're my Tony. So, what do you think about setting up a Monday night bowling league?" Abby blinked up at him with such earnestness that Tony had to mentally catch up. Bowling night. That was definitely an Abby thing to say.

"We don't actually have a bowling alley."

Abby nodded as if he'd just agreed with her. "Teyla said she knows where we can get some straight wood, and Radek is going to help me figure out a good hall to convert into bowling lanes. We're trying to decide whether to have six or ten lanes. I mean, with the current population, six lanes is fine, but you have to assume the city is going to grow. So, are you coming to the party tonight? Everyone is singing Colonel Sheppard's praises, but after the stories I've heard about Ellis, I am not surprised." In typical Abby style, she changed the topic before Tony had a chance to even wrap his head around the last topic. However, he mentally shelved the bowling alley idea. Besides, if Teyla was involved, it was a ninety percent done deal anyway, so Tony shifted to Colonel Sheppard’s coming home party.

Tony had suffered his own issues with Ellis, so he was thrilled to celebrate John Sheppard’s return. Ellis’ love for doubling Tony's NCIS paperwork was one thing, but his threats against Gibbs and Samas had made Tony seriously consider helping the man have an accident. He wouldn't have killed Ellis, but he certainly wouldn't have minded if the man took a bad enough fall to get discharged. "He assigned Gibbs to wash dishes to punish him for speaking his mind, so yeah, he wasn't the best," Tony said. If Abby was going to blow, it was always better to do it in private.

"Radek told me about that." Abby narrowed her eyes. "He's lucky that he got off the city before I got here because I would have made his life a living misery." Suddenly she leaned forward and reached for Tony's hand. He let her pull him down so they were both squished into the one chair. "Hey, you, what's wrong?"

Tony let out a strangled laugh. "I'm supposed to be asking if you're okay."

"Why?" Abby tilted her head to the side.

"Because you just got dragged to an alien world."

She snorted. "I think I just bullied the Air Force into letting me come to an alien world. It's not the same thing. Actually, I'm kinda proud of my ability to bully the armed forces. It makes me feel all testosterony," she said with a shimmy.

"You had some help."

Abby gave him a curious look. "Meaning?"

Tony sighed and really prayed he wasn't about to start a geek civil war. "Rodney set up that laptop as a trap."

"Of course he did. And?" Abby looked at him like she was waiting for him to say something that mattered.

"And he tricked you into getting involved." Tony grunted when a very sharp elbow jabbed him in the stomach. Hard.

"Do you think I'm stupid?"

"I never said that. I never even implied that!"

"No, but you show up with Evan Lorne who is all metals with no ribbons to show he served in arenas that would let him earn those sorts of honors. And then you have an entire covert ops team at your command, and they guard you like they're expecting Syrians to jump out of the woodwork. Then in the middle of all that weirdness, Rodney shows up knowing everything about computers. Newsflash--computer guys do not accidentally leave their computers behind."

Tony stared at her, his brain hurting a little. "You knew?"

Abby grabbed his hand. "Alien worlds? Wormhole travel? I completely didn't know any of that. I thought you were involved in some black ops agency. Considering that your secret is hugely implausible, I'm forgiving myself for getting the details all wrong. But I knew Rodney was issuing a challenge."

Tony rubbed his hand over his face.

"Tony?" Abby asked, concern in her voice.

"I have no idea if that will make things better or worse for Gibbs."

"For Gibbs? Tony, you aren’t making any sense.”

Tony sighed. "Abby, he is furious that Rodney pulled you into this. Homicidally furious. He won't even let Samas work with Rodney because he's having homicidal fantasies."

Oddly Abby laughed. She actually laughed, and Tony wasn’t quite sure how to handle that. Yeah, Abby wasn’t one for conventional responses, but she didn’t usually laugh in the face of Gibbs’ fury. “Have you been testing out Radek’s homemade vodka?”

“Oh, Tony.” She gave him one of her little smiles, the one that suggested that she loved him, even when he was an idiot. Honestly, that wasn’t fair because Tony hadn’t done anything truly stupid for at least five hours. “Gibbs is just being Gibbs. He gets intense. He’ll calm down—he always does.”

“No, Abby. You don’t get it. He has Ari levels of fury and obsession going on.”

She nodded. “I don’t doubt it. That’s Gibbs.”

Tony stared at her. Clearly he was failing to communicate.

“Oh, Tony,” she said again. “Back before you came, Gibbs flew through probies. Stan Burley started asking for an in-house transfer to another team inside a year, and after five years when he couldn’t take any more, he took an agent afloat job. And he was used to congressmen and senators and everyone calling him names and ordering him to do all the crap work, but Gibbs couldn’t remember his name and made it pretty clear he didn’t trust Stan. The other poor little newbie agents didn’t even stand a chance. They’d move a stapler and Gibbs would totally come unglued in a quiet and sort of terrifyingly menacing sort of way. And then you came along and he mellowed. Like overnight he mellowed.”

“Now I know you’re giving me shit.” Tony tried to stand, but Abby caught his arm and held on.

“I was there, Tony. You weren’t. The longer Gibbs worked with other people, the more tense he got, but with me and Ducky, he was different. We thought it was because we weren’t there in his sphere. You know, investigations. Only then you come along and it’s like he can let his guard down a little. This Gibbs you’re describing… he’s totally the pre-Tony version of the bossman.”

“If you’re trying to make me feel—”

“Nope,” Abby cut him off, “Gibbs loves you and I don’t have to try and patch you up because you’re all whole now. But don’t worry about Gibbs. When someone did something he didn’t like, he would get all intense and send people running to Morrow’s office for transfers, and then he’d get over it. And yeah,” she said quickly before Tony could get a word in, “he’s going to be more cranky because it’s me. When he first met me, I was so nervous and straight out of school, and NCIS had this complete asshole running the forensics lab, and he used to call me labgirl and ignore my findings. Gibbs was the first team leader to stick up for me and tell me that my work was better than his. Gibbs was my papa bear, and he always will be. But I’m a grown woman, Tony. I have a right to make my own choices, and when Gibbs sees I’m happy, he’ll come down off the red alert. Promise.”

Tony frowned at her. As much as he could see that she believed every word, Tony still wasn’t sure that Gibbs would forgive and forget, not when Rodney had put Abby in the middle of the danger.

“Trust me,” Abby said quietly. “He wants us happy, and if he sees we are, he’ll deal with everything else. He always does. I mean, he got over Stan leaving, and you do not want to know what a complete terror he was about that. Gibbs is not a fan of change.” She made an exaggerated ick face.

“No,” Tony agreed, “he isn’t. He was seriously worse before I came?”

Abby laughed. “Oh, Tony, you have no idea. I mean, none. So, you have to help me pick an outfit for the party. I read the regs, and uniforms aren’t actually mandatory for people who aren’t military, only recommended and required when handling dangerous materials because the uniform fabric is non-reactive, so that makes sense. The rest of the time, the only dress code is to wear something. So I plan to shake this place up and remind people that if you can’t have a little fun while hunting down murders and fighting space vampires, then what’s the point in doing it?” With a cheeky grin, she jumped up from the chair and headed for her closet.

“I’m thinking goth princess,” she announced. “What do you think?”

Tony chuckled. “I think I’m going to take a camera so I can catch people’s faces when you walk in.”

“Oh, oh, oh. I want copies,” Abby bubbled.

Yeah, Atlantis was never going to be the same, but Tony had to believe it was going to be better. Every city needed a little Abby to cheer the place up and keep cranky old marines and scientists from getting too stuffy. Tony wondered what the city thought of her, but maybe his imagination or his city-sense or whatever it was that he felt was failing him because all he could sense was the distant touch of Sheppard as he walked through the corridors. And satisfaction. Sheppard was definitely satisfied about something. Carnally satisfied. Tony was distracted from Abby’s wardrobe choices as he could feel the cool almost glossy presence of Rodney tangled in Sheppard’s contentment.

Well damn. The boys had finally found each other.


	32. Welcome Home Party

Tony drifted through the party, smiling at a diplomat from the world that traded a cinnamon type spice that was popular in the city. The woman flashed him an inviting smile, and Tony noticed Gibbs' attention immediately shifted their way. While Abby seemed confident that Gibbs would eventually calm down, Tony wasn't seeing it yet. Gibbs' frustration, obsession, and jealousy seemed to be out in full force.

"Tony," Teyla said as she moved to his side and slipped a hand around his arm.

"Teyla. It looks like you got anyone who's anyone here tonight."

"Sometimes a grand gesture is needed," she agreed. "That shirt looks handsome on you."

Tony looked down at the cream colored long shirt. It had a subtle horizontal pattern common for many Athosian-made textiles and he'd paired it with a dark brown leather vest. "Thank you. I appreciate you helping me find a good tailor."

"Of course," Teyla nodded to a diplomat passed them. Before she could leave, Tony brought up Abby.

"So, I hear you got pulled into helping create a bowling alley."

Teyla's smile seemed to grow warmer. "Abby is a generous soul. I am very pleased to help her in her attempts to get your people to find more balance in their lives."

"We're back to the idea that Earth humans are uptight, right?"

Teyla laughed. "Perhaps not uptight as much as... very driven. Driven and perhaps unrealistic. I had thought all of you shared this, but Abby seems to bring a more balanced energy to Atlantis.”

Tony had never heard anyone call Abby balanced, but then Teyla did see the world a little differently. “She’s pretty determined to get people to have a little fun.”

“Good. I have suggested to Elizabeth that we have a scheduled day of rest, but she fears that such a practice might cause more stress.” She gave him a thoughtful look. “I fear I didn’t understand her logic.”

“Did she say the scientists would stress about being forced away from their work?” Tony guessed. Rodney would be beside himself if someone told him to stay away from his lab. Teyla gave him a slow nod. Tony sighed, no sure how to explain this, but he found with Teyla that honesty worked best. “The scientists are going to worry that if they lose any time, they might be too late to save us from the next disaster. If the Wraith show up, they don’t want to be in the position where they need two more hours to complete some critical work only to realize that they’d spent six hours off having fun the week before.”

Teyla gave him a long look as if searching for some sign that he was teasing her. Eventually she put on her most conciliatory expression. “I do not mean to insult,” she said slowly, “but that appears to be a rather arrogant response. We cannot control the universe or determine when some disaster might strike and if we live in fear of the next disaster, we lose the ability to enjoy what happiness fate has allotted us.”

“Yeah, well you have Rodney on your team. Do you really think he would handle it well if someone told him to stay away from his lab?”

Teyla tilted her head to the side. “I have been told many times that Rodney is unique.”

“Not so much,” Tony said. He looked across the room at the officials from other planets mingling with the Atlantis residents. The Hoffans had on formal wear with tall collars and clothing that stuck to neutrals. Their Genii scientists had clothing that looked out of the 1800s in yellows and blues and greys. The Earthers all wore their uniforms, except for Elizabeth who had on an evening dress that would have looked at home on a red carpet. Tony suspected that she had chosen that intentionally to appear more neutral and less a part of the Earth bureaucracy that Ellis had taught so many Pegasus natives to distrust. “They’re all in uniform. They don’t let themselves stand down, even at a party.”

Teyla looked around at the huge gathering of people. “I had thought you brought little in the way of clothing.”

“We’ve had the chance to import more.” Tony looked over at Abby who had a red dress that had a high hem in front and then went all the way to the floor in back. She had added platform boots that made her tower over most of the attendees and a black leather corset. Everyone seemed to find a reason to wander her way, and she was laughing and flitting from suitor to suitor. “When Earth people tell stories or watch movies, the good guy always wins at the end because he’s smarter or he works harder. The bomb will be ready to go off, but the hero turns it off with one second to spare.”

“I had noticed that. I thought perhaps you chose to bring the movies that would offer you comfort.”

Tony shook his head. “No, they’re pretty much all like that. Oh, if you watch French films or Russian films you’ll see the good guys lose sometimes, but Western culture generally tells us that we have to be good enough to save the world.”

Reaching out, Teyla rested her hand against his arm. “That is a heavy burden to carry. My people understand that death is inevitable and that the _good guy_ will often lose and become food for the Wraith.”

“And that’s where my people think your people are carrying a heavy burden. They would call that despair.”

“Despair would imply that we have given up. We do not. We simply know that to fight often means to lose. We will not allow ourselves to carry guilt for our inevitable failures, and we will not ignore our lives and families in some quest for a perfect solution.”

Tony looked over to where Sheppard stood at the corner of one of the food tables, clearly trying to blend into the background. Rodney was nearby, browbeating anyone who came within fifty feet. Watching Rodney play guard dog for the military leader of Atlantis was a little amusing. Or a lot. Tony could admit he was a lot amused. Hopefully Atlantis hadn’t started whispering to anyone else about their relationship, though. Carson and Lorne definitely thought he was crazy for thinking the city had feelings or thoughts, and Miko would start talking about Japanese mythology when Tony tried to broach the subject. So Tony was pretty sure he was the only ones who got the telepathic updates. Just in case he sent a mental command out to protect the two of them, to hide their secret from everyone else. 

“Colonel Sheppard feels guilty for every death in the city, even for those who died when he wasn’t here.”

Teyla turned toward the colonel. “I know this. You think this is more than simple guilt over his inability to help us while ascended?”

Honestly, Tony believed that had something to do with it. Tony followed the evidence, and the evidence did suggest that Sheppard had been ascended. If he’d come here to save Atlantis or the people of the Pegasus galaxy, then he’d suffered some pretty substantial setbacks. “Even if he was only human, he would feel guilty and he would wonder what he could have done to save everyone.”

Teyla sighed and looked sadly in the direction of her two teammates.

“We’re all as messed up as Rodney. Rodney just shows his desperation more,” Tony said. “He will fail one day, and you watch. He’ll blame himself and others will blame him.”

Teyla whirled on him, anger in her eyes. “They ask the impossible from him. They cannot expect that this will come without loss and failure.”

“Yes, they do expect exactly that,” Tony said. “I know what Colonel Sheppard brought up in the morning meeting, and I’m warning you that Rodney is going to kill himself to try and make sure we’re ready for any possible disaster. If he fails, he will hate himself and the others very well might hate him, at least for a while.”

Teyla had a look of horror on her face now. 

“Keep an eye on him, and don’t assume that he’s okay, even if he tells you he is and pushes you away,” Tony said. “Rodney looks at me like a big brother, but on our world, a big brother is the first person to call you an idiot when you screw up. If something happens, I can’t help him through it. Not easily.”

Teyla looked back at Rodney. “The more I know of your people, the more I question your sanity.”

“You and me both,” Tony agreed. “And that’s why we have to spend a little time protecting Abby too.”

“Why?”

Tony considered his words since he was not only giving Teyla information on Abby but information on the sometimes questionable psychology of all the people of his planet. “My people are often bothered by things that are too different. They want to believe they’re normal, and so they want everyone around them to be similar in some way. Most of the people who first came to Atlantis didn’t have that way of thinking, and so they love her. Even Lorne smiles more around her. But some of the newer people are going to be uncomfortable around her. And she tells the truth—sometimes more than people want to hear.”

With a heavy sigh, Teyla watched Abby across the room. For a time they stood shoulder to shoulder, and Tony knew he had found the right ally, even if Teyla was having trouble processing this bit of Earth insanity. “You seem quite capable of enjoying that which is different,” Teyla finally pointed out.

“I’m sort of the exception, although I come with my own faults and glitches.”

Teyla’s hand returned to his arm, and she gave him a little squeeze. “We are all deeply flawed.”

“Yep,” Tony agreed. “But I’m not flawed in the same ways as most of my people. That’s why General O’Neill could never predict what I would do, yet you always guess where I’m going.”

“You are more transparent than you suspect.”

“Not to my own people. But these people need to be distracted from how uncomfortable they are with Abby. I plan to give up the uniform, and that will distract a number of them. They’re going to get very upset that I’m not toeing the line and fitting in with everyone else, but NCIS regs don’t require that I wear the uniform, and it will give her some cover. I was hoping you could make sure the Pegasus natives give her a little support until she’s found her niche. After that, she won’t care if haters hate her for being herself.”

Teyla let her eyes fall closed and she gave him a formal head bow. “I am very honored that you came to me with this concern. I will make sure that we welcome her so she has a firm community in which to stand.”

Tony leaned forward, and Teyla met him halfway, their foreheads pressing together. “Thank you,” he whispered, the worry in his heart easing. Teyla was more than capable of handling this.

“You are my friend, and I extend my friendship to any you find worthy,” she said. She stood up straight and looked him in the eye until Tony realized that she was making a very solemn vow.

“And I am equally willing to trust your judgment of others,” he promised. The others still sometimes brought up her trust of the Genii who had betrayed them. However, after working with Ladon and Dahlia Radim and Avonli Hozek and the various techs who had transferred in and out of Atlantis, Tony could see why she trusted them. They were fanatical, but they were determined to do what they saw as the right thing for their people. If they had to die, they would. They would sacrifice themselves in a blink for one chance to kill the Wraith. They were terrifying, but they were good people who adored their families with the quiet desperation of a people who knew their children, their parents, their sisters and brothers would be eventually stolen away by the Wraith.

Teyla smiled at him. “There are many dignitaries here, and I should greet them,” she said.

“Of course.” Tony bowed his head toward her and took a step back. She turned and headed into the crowd. 

Tony returned to scanning the guests and wandering from group to group. So far, everyone was thrilled to have Colonel Sheppard back. Tony had overheard more than one group muttering about the ridiculous complexities of Earth politics, and quite a few had compared the Earthers to the Genii. Tony couldn’t entirely dismiss that comparison. Hopefully those mutters wouldn’t turn into anything darker, but Tony made a mental note to discuss that with Teyla and Elizabeth.

The number of off-world people who recognized Tony and greeted him surprised him. Despite having explained the concept of NCIS multiple times, most of the galaxy continued to address him as arbiter. Of course they understood he was not the chief arbiter and he could not decide the fate of those who had committed serious crimes, but his willingness to deal with petty theft and rowdy kids off the books had definitely giving them a skewed idea of the role of NCIS on a ship. As long as Jenny Shepard never heard rumors about how he was handling his job, that was fine.

Vish of Degas was moving toward Sheppard now. He wore the long robes of the priesthood. One of the first changes to come out of command staff after Ellis left was an order to allow the priests back into the library towers. They spent their days reading and transcribing Ancient texts onto scrolls that could be carried to other worlds, and in the process they were quickly sorting and tagging the various files by subject matter. Ellis hadn’t seen the value of categorizing what appeared to be a library of philosophy and pleasure reading, and he really hadn’t seen any reason to legitimize the religious beliefs of the Degans.

Most of the native groups hated him for that.

People who scrambled to rebuild after every Wraith attack revered those who had time to invest in the arts—music, literature, painting, and even textiles were considered great luxuries. To deny a group the ability to pursue their art not out of a need for more hands to bring in the crops but out of a disrespect for literature or culture was unthinkable.

Only Ellis clearly thought that way. When Tony had tried to talk to him, Ellis hadn’t even understood why anyone cared about Vish and his priests. 

But as much as Tony did respect what the priests did with their scrolls and their storytelling, Sheppard deserved a night without being put on a pedestal and worshiped as an Ancestor. Tony started moving to intercept Vish. Given how panicked Sheppard looked, Tony thought he needed a more effective defensive line than Rodney.

“Vish!” Tony called out. He slid into place between Vish and his intended target. Hopefully Sheppard would take the distraction and run. “I wanted to apologize again for Ellis. You know he didn’t speak for most of us.”

Vish raised an eyebrow and Tony could have sworn the edge of his lip almost twitched into a smile. “I certainly know he did not speak for you or for Lady Elizabeth,” Vish agreed. “We are grateful to have our true leader home. Obviously, we are not alone in our gratitude.” Vish had a scroll in one hand, and with the other he gestured toward the crowds. It did look like most of the city had joined representatives from dozens of worlds. Around two hundred Athosians, an equal number of Hoffans, and around fifty Degans mixed with the three hundred or so Earthers, a handful of Genii and young people who’d opted out of ritual suicide on M7G-677, and probably a hundred or so dignitaries from their trading partners. The Wraith would have considered this a regular feast.

Unfortunately, one of Vish’s fellow priests moved to the side where she could block Sheppard’s retreat. Vish twitched an eyebrow at Tony. Move and countermove. Damn but Tony did like this man. He could play a mean game, the whole time maintaining a zen calm that allowed him to deny ever playing a game. “If you will excuse me, Arbiter Tony,” he said as he started to slip around Tony.

Tony glanced back and saw Sheppard trapped between a Degan priest and a table laden with enough sugary treats that even Rodney wouldn’t have been able to make a dent in it. Tony took a step to the side to block Vish again. “I hear you found a very interesting text recently.” In fact, Tony had been hearing rumors for a while now, but he’d taken that as a sign to avoid the Degans. Tony really didn’t want to hear a translated version of the "Joy of Bowels," and boy didn’t he wish that was an exaggeration. Teyla might think Earthers were nuts, but the Ancients had been a special breed of stark-raving mad. 

“Very interesting,” Vish agreed. “I will be happy to do a private reading for you. But it must be later, Tony. I do need to present my gift to the Shepherd.” Vish grabbed Tony’s arm to keep him in place and moved around him. Tony gave Sheppard and apologetic look, but the colonel just shrugged wearily before putting on the most insincere smile Tony had seen since leaving DC.

“The Shepherd has returned,” Vish said to the colonel. The capitalization of the title Shepherd was clear in his voice.

“Yeah. Great to be back,” Colonel Sheppard said. “I should probably… you know…” He gestured toward the crowd that he’d been carefully avoiding.

Rodney stepped in. “Priest guy. You. Yeah. I’ve had to send three different technicians to fix the terminals in your tower. I don’t have an unlimited supply of crystals you know. Or, I do, but they take a long time to grow, and I can’t keep up with the number you’re burning out.”

“Of course,” Vish answered without even a twitch of aggravation. He also didn’t move, and with his second assistant, he continued to keep Sheppard trapped in his corner. Getting caught in a corner with no escape was definitely not smart. Tony hoped that John used a little more tactical sense next time. They had compared notes on the misery of growing up rich enough that every nose pick ended up dissected by the social elite, so Tony knew the man had better skills than to get trapped by a dessert table.

Vish quickly held out the scroll. “I only wished to offer my own present to mark this day. We were transcribing a text that theorized that the truth of all things may be found in the single beat of a butterfly’s wings when we came across this. We have held it for its proper owner. We had faith you would return.”

John looked like he was ready for a full panic attack. Give him Wraith, and he handled it with aplomb, but the man sucked at social gatherings worse than Tony. Or Gibbs. Hell, he made Rodney look downright smooth by comparison. 

“Yes. Thank you,” Rodney answered for John. “Now go away.”

“Rodney,” John snapped. “I apologize. I think we’re both tired. Thank you for the gift,” John said, even if he held the scroll awkwardly.

“Of course, Shepherd Colonel John,” Vish said. He smiled at then turned away. He wandered into the crowd.

“Geez Rodney, rude much?” John asked quietly.

“Yes,” Rodney shot right back without a hint of apology. “He creeps me out, and the IOC wouldn’t have dragged their feet nearly as much if they hadn’t been worried about you going all local warlord and minor god. The Dagan priests are a huge part of that.” Rodney crossed his arms over his chest and got a mulish look on his face.

“I seem to remember you going along with the plan to convince them I was an Ancestor,” John hissed back. A couple of party guests turned to look, and Tony moved to intercept them and lay on some DiNozzo charm. Yeah, no one would be guessing these two slept together any time soon.

“I believe in evidence. You could fly a time machine with no instructions.”

“I have the gene,” John snapped a little too loudly and a dozen more people turned to look. Tony let his own voice get louder as he called to someone halfway across the room and waved. The woman got a confused look on her face, but she waved back.

“Fine. Be that way,” Rodney said, and then he was stomping through the crowd. People retreated out of his path, but Tony noted that Abby had already abandoned her admirers and she was making a beeline for him. John was so getting an earful later. Abby never let her favorites go unavenged, and Tony got the feeling that Rodney was now a favorite.

Tony looked over, and given the look of unrestrained fury on Gibbs’ face, he knew it too. Well, no one had promised him that life would get easier if he jumped headfirst into an alien transporter to follow Gibbs.

Realizing he couldn’t do anything about that whole mess, Tony turned to see if he could help Colonel Sheppard. Sheppard was reading the scroll when Tony looked at him, but the shock on his face sent alarms screaming up Tony’s spine. He hurried to Sheppard’s side. “Are you okay?” he asked. Sheppard had turned an unhealthy shade of white. Atlantis herself wasn’t showing any sign of alarm although that sense of her presence was suddenly sharper. “Colonel Sheppard?” Tony reached out to touch his arm.

Sheppard looked up, made eye contact with Tony for a fraction of a second, and then he bellowed at the top of his voice, “McKay! McKay, get over here!” Tony fell back a step, and the entire crowd fell silent. “Rodney!” Sheppard yelled, and then Rodney was running, shoving people out of his way to get to John faster.

“What? What?” Rodney’s voice cracked and he looked around with wild-eyed panic. Tony distantly noted that security had moved toward the exits, and Gibbs was at Elizabeth’s side, one hand wrapped around Abby’s arm. From the looks of things, Abby was trying to pull away, but Gibbs wasn’t budging. “What?” Rodney demanded again.

Sheppard thrust the scroll at him. With an expression halfway between annoyance and worry, Rodney looked down, and now Tony could see the mathematical symbols covering the thick paper. That was a strange thing to put in a book about the flap of a butterfly wing. He looked over toward Vish, and he was grinning widely. The other two priests were close by his side, whispering and looking so very smug.

“Is it?” Sheppard demanded. “Rodney, is it really what I think it is?”

Rodney was breathing faster, his eyes scanning the scroll with fast, almost panicked movements. He didn’t even look up from the scroll when he took a hand and swept all the pastries off the table and onto the floor. Tony leaped back to avoid getting splattered with strawberryish sweet jam. 

“Hey!” he protested, but Rodney ignored him as he laid the scroll out on the now empty spot on the table.

“Rodney?” Sheppard demanded. He stepped right up to Rodney’s side, and Tony stepped back as Radek pushed forward.

“Where did you get this?” Rodney looked up, but he only glanced at Sheppard because his gaze searched the crowd until he found Vish. “Where did you get this?” he shouted across the room.

Vish smiled. “I told you. The Ancients found many secrets in the beating of a butterfly’s wings. This secret seemed most appropriate for the Shepherd’s returning gift.”

Elizabeth had moved away from Gibbs’ side, and she was crossing the room, threading between little clusters of curious people.

“Rodney, please tell me this isn’t a joke,” Sheppard asked.

Rodney turned and looked at John. “I can’t be sure until I get to my lab and run simulations.”

“But?” Sheppard prompted him.

Rodney gave him a crooked smile. “But this looks like the formula for recharging a ZPM. We can bring her back to life. All of her.”

Sheppard fell back against the wall for a second, his eyes glazing over. 

Elizabeth reached Radek’s side, and they both stood on the far side of a battlefield of crushed pastries and looked at the scroll. “Rodney, are you sure?”

“A hundred percent? No, of course not. But if this isn’t the right formula, it’s close enough to take thirty years off our research.”

Radek muttered in Czech, and then Sheppard pushed away from the wall and strode right through the crowd. Everyone was muttering now, whispering about the idea of having all the power of the Ancients back in the city. Tony cringed a little as he realized that this was definitely going to be making the rumor mill, and that meant eventually some Wraith worshipper would take the story back to the hives. However, for right now, this was great news.

Sheppard reached Vish and for a second he stood right in front of the man. Vish was small with white hair, a slender frame, and laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. He smiled at the colonel. “Welcome home, our Shepherd,” he said just loud enough for his voice to rise over the mutters.

“Best present ever,” Sheppard said, and then he caught Vish up in a hug and spun him around. The room broke out in cheers, and someone started a strange whooping that some of the locals used to sound a victory. Others picked up the sound and soon the entire room was full of whooping people with the Marines adding in their own “Hoo-rah” until it made a strange and repetitive sort of music that echoed off the glass and metal of the Ancient-built room.


	33. Epilogue

Tony stretched until his fingers pressed against the wall. Gibbs’ come was leaking out of him, and he was in the wet spot, but he couldn’t have cared less if someone had offered him money. Gibbs hummed as he let his fingers trace the line of Tony’s spine.

“I can’t believe they found the ZPM formula in a book on butterflies,” Tony muttered.

Gibbs chuckled. “Funny. Before he took off, Samas commented that it was the most logical place for the Alterians to leave it.”

Tony tilted his head to the side and made an uncomprehending noise. Gibbs closed his eyes for a second, and the lights dimmed so that the moon shining in through the balcony was the only light. When he opened them again, he leaned in and pressed a kiss against Tony’s shoulder.

“Anyone who was interested in only war would disregard that library. The only people who would value that particular library would be those who had a wider interest in the world.”

“So the Genii or even Earth’s military never would have found it.”

“Because all they care about are weapons. The Ancients left those plans for people who wanted to build something, not for people who only cared about war.”

Tony felt something like a sigh in the back of his head. Atlantis agreed. “Do you think that’s why they scrambled the database?” Tony asked.

Gibbs slid his hand down Tony’s back and rested it against the round of his ass. Gibbs had freed Tony’s wrists, but he still wore the cuffs, and his ankles were still strapped to the sides of the bed. Gibbs kneaded his ass for a second before answering. “Samas thinks that the database was scrambled before they left. There’s evidence that someone tried to clean up parts of it.”

“Maybe someone found her before we came?”

“Maybe,” Gibbs said softly.

“You don’t think so?”

“I think Samas would disagree, but he isn’t here to give all his reasons why he would disagree.”

Tony nodded and let his eyes fall closed. It’d been an exciting day. “How are the sprogs?” he asked. Samas’ kids had to be close to maturity by now. Tony had been speaking to Teyla in general roundabout ways, and she seemed to think that some of the younger Athosians would consider it a great honor to carry a life that might outlive them by thousands of years. Tony suspected that the influx of young Athosians volunteering as guides was related to his comment that if Samas had children, he would want his children to join with individuals who could teach of not only daring and bravery, but also honor. Ellis had only allowed a couple of teams to take local guides, but they’d all had those guides assigned to them before Ellis had come. Sheppard had spent most of day one rearranging the teams, and local guides were now assigned to most of the gate teams.

“Samas said that some of them might be worthy of chasing if they can only grow up and stop annoying him.”

“The fact that he would chase his own kids to get material for more kids…”

“Don’t think about it, DiNozzo,” Gibbs advised him.

Tony hummed. He could go with that. “So how did Earth take the news of the ZPM formula?”

“Cautiously,” Gibbs said. “Rodney couldn’t promise that it would work, so he forwarded a copy to Carter, and they’re both going to see if they can get the numbers to work using the depleted ZPMs they already have.”

“So it’s a race?”

“Yep,” Gibbs agreed.

“Rodney will win.”

“Probably. Samas seems to think that now that he has the formula, he can find a reference to it in the database. He wants to spend a week or two searching the computer.”

Tony shifted and he could feel the slickness in his asshole. “Are you okay with staring at a computer all day?”

“It’s worth it,” Gibbs said, “although Samas and I agree on keeping the actual recharging station a secret in case Earth gets any ideas about giving up on their own facility and turning us into a battery recharging station.”

Tony opened his eyes. “What?”

Gibbs brought his hand up and rested it against Tony’s cheek. “Earth needs to be able to take care of her own needs. If Earth has no ability to recharge ZPMs, then it’s forced to rely on us. That makes us more valuable, but it also means that Earth has to hold onto us more closely.”

Tony nodded. “Got it. And considering that we have sprogs to think of, having Earth too close would be a bad thing.”

“Yeah, it would. For them and us,” Gibbs agreed. “The universe is a dangerous place, and no planet can rely on another. They need to stand on their own, so let Carter find a way to charge their ZPMs.”

The logic made sense, even if Tony was a little surprised at the idea that Gibbs would keep the recharging station a secret if he found it. Then again, Tony found that most of the people on the city would do anything to protect her. Well, her and Sheppard.

The Degans had been whispering about a great find for weeks… months maybe. None of them had turned the formula over until John came back. And Tony had a gut-level feeling that Zelenka had done a little creative editing of Ellis’ emails to make the man look even guiltier of incompetence than he really was… although he was definitely incompetent on his own. Tony even suspected that Teyla had undermined Ellis, failing to warn him about simple problems in an attempt to encourage him to move on. 

Unfortunately, the military didn’t let colonels just move on without transfer orders.

“If you had a chance to go back to Earth, would you?” Tony asked.

Gibbs’ hands stilled. Lying in the dark with alien moonlight cutting lines across their shared quarters, Tony had everything he wanted. Earth had his father and Ziva and McGee and his job at NCIS headquarters, and as much as he cared about all those things, he had conflicted feelings about each and every one. Here things were simpler. 

“Would you?”

“No, not unless you did,” Tony answered.

Gibbs grunted. Tony suspected that was the only answer he would get out of Gibbs. Even if Earth had exiled Gibbs and threatened to lock him in a cage for the rest of his life, there would always be some part of him that was loyal to his home. That loyalty would keep him from saying anything more.

“Abby said something funny today,” Tony said.

“If the next words out of your mouth include McKay, I’m getting a gag.”

“No.” Clearly Gibbs was still unhappy. “She said that you were a lot more intense before I came into your life. In fact, she said that before me, you were always this unreasonably cranky when things didn’t go the way you wanted them to.”

“She did, huh?” Gibbs rolled closer, trapping Tony’s right arm between their cooling bodies. 

“Yep.”

“It might be true,” Gibbs said cagily.

“She said that you even tried driving Stan away until you got used to him and then you threw a fit when he transferred out.”

Gibbs gave another grunt. “When I have Samas with me, most people annoy me,” he said after a long silence.

“Why?”

They lay in the dark and the quiet so long that Tony thought Gibbs might have fallen asleep. Without Samas in him, he did need more rest. However, he finally answered. “People lie about their emotions. Worse, they lie to themselves, so they say things they think are true when that’s not how they feel. Stan used to tell me how much he enjoyed working with the Senate, and his voice and every physical reaction pointed to the truth of that statement, but I could smell the misery from him when he talked about his time there. How can someone not know themselves? How can I trust people who don’t know themselves?”

Tony blinked as he struggled to understand what Gibbs was implying about him. “Are you suggesting that I’m emotionally healthy, because I’m not even close, boss.”

“You’re as close as I am.”

“Exactly,” Tony said dryly.

That earned an amused chuckle. “I mean that you tell me how much you loved growing up rich, and I can hear the lie and I can smell your misery when you talk about your childhood. Those two match. When you lie, you know you’re lying. You’re just very good at it.”

“Thanks. I think. So what about Abby and Ducky?”

“They’re the same. Their emotions match what they’re saying, even if they might be telling a lie at the time. McGee though, I have a harder time with him. He puts on a show of confidence, but he lets his insecurities show through, and then he smells of anger. I don’t know what to think of him yet.”

“And Ziva?” Tony asked. If they were having one of those rare moments when Gibbs was in the mood to share, Tony really wanted to know why she had earned such an immediately trust from him.

Gibbs took a deep breath and sighed. Tony stayed still as he waited for Gibbs to sort his thoughts. “She believed Ari was innocent. She said it, she believed it, and her emotions matched it.”

“And she was wrong,” Tony pointed out.

“Yeah,” Gibbs agreed sadly. “She was. But she’s the one who shot Ari in my basement, not me. Even when she pulled the trigger—even when she held him as he bled out—she still loved him. She grieved him deeply, but she loved the truth more. She put my life and our case ahead of her own feelings, and she was willing to consider that she was wrong. She never would have agreed to come to my house and back me up if she hadn’t been willing to consider the possibility that she had made a mistake. That meant a lot to me.”

“Well crap,” Tony said softly. Okay, he could see why Gibbs had given her his stamp of approval. He still maintained that a Mossad agent didn’t have the right skills for an investigative team, but he understood why Gibbs had taken her in. After all, he and Tony had been a two-man team before, so they could solve the cases while she learned the job. It had a logic to it. Besides, that would have majorly triggered Gibbs’ protective instincts. “Are you sorry we left her behind?”

“No. She was too brittle to handle this well. Then again, I would have said that you would be better off at home, too, and you have told me more than once that you would rather be here.”

Tony barely managed to avoid saying that the same was true of Abby, but he bit his tongue at the last second.

“If you hadn’t come, I don’t know who Samas would have chosen for her heirs. I hate to think of a bunch of queens made with Kali’s memories, but Samas might have used her blood.”

Tony frowned. He knew that the symbiote he’d hosted and left behind on Samas homeworld had been asexual—what passed as male in their species. “Queens?”

Gibbs used his arm around Tony’s waist to pull him closer. “The children he spawned after you gave up your symbiote included three queens all with the DNA of your symbiote and the memories that symbiote had taken from your mind. Of the children now maturing under Atlantis, two of the survivors are queens, both using your genetic lines. Congratulations, Tony, you have twin girls. In Igigi culture, saying that you’re worthy of spawning a queen is the highest compliment.”

Tony pushed himself up on one elbow. “Queens? Seriously? There are going to be DiNozzo memories running around five thousand years from now?” Tony wasn’t sure if he was proud or horrified. Maybe both. Damn, he hadn’t even raised his girls and they’d inherited his messed up father issues and his insecurities. Maybe Samas had edited those things out.

Gibbs pulled him back down, and Tony huffed as he hit the mattress. “Calm down. You’re a great father, and they’re both strong girls. Of course in true Igigi fashion, they’re very focused on killing each other, but in that way, they’re not all that different from human offspring and their siblings.”

“Crap. I’m a father. Wait. Why didn’t Samas tell me I was a father?”

“Because he didn’t want you to get upset about the three other girls that weren’t quick enough or smart enough to avoid their sisters. It’s the Igigi way, and he was afraid you would want to protect all five even if that wasn’t the best choice for the species.”

“It seems pretty cold to let them die,” Tony said, his stomach churning a little as he realized he’d lost most of his girls before knowing he had them. He remembered the symbiote’s memory of cutting through the water, the excitement and danger all around him. He knew that his girls had probably been equally excited to get out there and prove themselves, and they wouldn’t have wanted him to protect them. Still. He’d lost three girls.

“That’s why humans who haven’t hosted are never going to really understand. For Igigi, it’s better to throw your strength against the enemy and die than to live without ever testing yourself. It’s their way.”

Tony thought about his symbiote’s eagerness to get out of Tony and try and tempt the queen into taking his blood. And he knew that one wrong twitch, and Samas would eat him whole. That was part of the joy.

“Igigi are even more alien than Wraith, aren’t they?”

“Maybe,” Gibbs admitted, “but Samas is worth the trouble, and your girls are too.”

“Yeah.” Tony smiled as he thought of them one day taking hosts and looking at the world where their father had walked. He imagined how excited they’d be to find a whole new universe full of new enemies to fight. “They’re going to give the Wraith hell.”

“Oh yeah,” Gibbs agreed. “They wouldn’t be DiNozzos if they didn’t give someone hell.”

“ZPMs and a whole generation of Igigi ready to take on the world—the Wraith ain’t seen nothing yet,” Tony said softly. Lying there, he floated in that half place between sleeping and awake and let his mind drift. The city whispered lullabies to him, and he imagined the dark ocean beneath her rusted and damaged skirts where his children played. It wasn’t just his girls, though. 

Other symbiotes raced between broken struts and darted down to take fish. Some sung of Kali as she’d been when she was young. She’d dive out of her human host with her fins extended, just as fierce as any queen. They sung of a young Yu who would twist and turn, lure his enemy in and then flip around to catch them in his jaws before cutting them in half. Symbiotes sang of the beauty and cold destruction of physics mingled with the hot passion of Carter. They sang of Daniel’s losses and his strength. Many of them sang of O’Neill and his steel determination. They sang of their mother Samas and the great host Gibbs. However, they were frustrated. They had no new songs, and they wanted more. They wanted to see the world. They wanted to meet the Wraith their mother spoke of and feel Wraith blood on their hosts’ hands.

Atlantis hummed her lullabies louder, and Tony drifted off still dreaming of his children.


End file.
